Children of the Sword
by exclamation
Summary: Seven years ago, Tommy got involved with a secret Order and he and Kat adopted Kim's orphaned children. Now, the twins are trying to find out their parents' secrets and the Order are after the twins. To make things worse, Tommy's got Mesagog to deal with.
1. Chapter 1

This story probably needs quite a lot of explanation. I started writing a story ages ago, The Children of Orasella. In this story were two kids who travel back in time to the Zeo era to try and change history and stop Jason discovering the secrets of a mysterious order of ninjas. It becomes apparent that the kids are Catrina and William Hart, Kim's children, raised by Tommy and Kat after Kim's death (Tommy's not the real dad, but that's largely irrelevant to this story).

This story is a prequel (isn't time travel wonderful!) to that story. It tells how the twins got involved in the Order of Orasella and learned about their parents being Rangers. It's going to be the first of a trilogy in which Children of Orasella is the third story. You don't need to know about the first story to read this one.

**Chapter One**

"Do you ever get the feeling that Dad and Kat hide stuff from us?" 

Trina looked up from her history text book to where her twin brother, Will, was sitting on his bed, ignoring homework in favour of comic books. No doubt he'd be trying to copy hers first thing in the morning. Sometimes it was hard to believe they were even related, much less twins. Other people just laughed and said that Will took after his Dad while Trina was their mum through and through. Trina supposed they meant Kat when they said that, rather than their real mum.

"No," Trina answered.

"You're not in the least bit curious as to why we're not allowed to go in Dad's study?"

"Because you break things," Trina said, deciding whatever her brother's latest, crazy theory was, it was probably more interesting than the French Revolution, "Dad's probably worried you'd decide to fiddle with some gazillion-year-old fossil."

"I don't break things that often." 

As answer, Trina reached into the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out a pink, plastic figure, which had one arm at a slightly odd angle because it had needed to be stuck on with superglue.

"That was two years ago!" Will protested, "Besides, you'd think they'd make Power Rangers that could survive falling out of a tree."

It might have been two years ago, but it was a grudge Trina would carry to her grave. Will shouldn't have been playing with her stuff, particularly after his White Ranger figure had ended up severely melted fighting a dragon. Will decided to change the subject by returning the conversation to the original subject of discussion.

"In the last house, we could go anywhere. Now, all of a sudden, there's a room we must never go in. You don't find that at all odd?"

"Before we moved to Reefside, Dad did all his work at the university or at Dr Mercer's labs. Now he does stuff at home and doesn't want us messing it up." Trina thought Will was, as usual, making a huge deal out of nothing.

"I think he'd got some big secret he doesn't want us to find out about."

"Like what?" 

"Like, maybe he's a secret agent. Or he could be alien in disguise."

"You read too many comics."

"I think we should sneak into the study when they're out and find out." 

"And I think you're a moron," said Trina, smiling sweetly, "but no one listens to me either."

"Next week's washing up duties says we find something top secret." 

Trina considered this. After all, there was no way her brother could actually be right. "Two week's washing up duties. But if we get caught, I'm going to tell Kat it was all your idea."

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"I told you," said Trina, "nothing but fossils and lesson plans." Will looked somewhat disappointed as they searched what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary study. The desk held a computer and some drafts of what their dad planned to teach when his first semester started at Reefside High.

"I was sure there'd be something," said Will. He went to a table where there was a little model of a t-rex.

"Don't touch that!"

But Trina was too late. Will had pulled down on the t-rex's mouth. There was a strange scraping sound and then, to her utter astonishment, a piece of the floor raised up to reveal a set of stairs leading beneath the house.

"Yes!" Will punched the air. He hurried down the stairs, Trina following somewhat more cautiously. She wasn't sure what was more surprising, that her dad had a secret passage hidden in his study, or that her brother had been right. She followed him down into a sort of lab, with dinosaur bones in the walls and a huge computer system against one wall.

"Awesome!" Will declared. Even Trina had to agree with that.

"Do you think this is just Dad's secret hideout?" Will asked, "Or do you think Kat does stuff down here too?"

"Of course Kat comes down here."

"How do you figure that out?"

"There's not a three inch layer of dust on everything." Will gave a little laugh at Trina's proof. She certainly couldn't imagine this place being anything like this tidy if it was just Dad who worked down here.

Will went over to a strange, lumpy black rock with what looked like Gems set in the top. He was about to touch it when Trina grabbed his arm.

"Are you a total idiot?" she demanded.

"What?" 

"A, you shouldn't touch creepy glowy rocks in a mysterious lab. And B, if Dad and Kat figure out we were down here, we'll still be grounded on our hundredth birthday."

Will seemed to accept this.

"What do you think they do down here?" Will asked, still looking round the lab but, thankfully, not trying to fiddle with anything else.

"I have no idea." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Will came bounding into the bedroom and jumped onto Trina's bed, where she was sitting reading. He was so obviously excited that Trina couldn't resist taking her time to finish the page before finally acknowledging his arrival.

"I know how to find out what Dad and Kat are up to," Will said.

"And how's that?" Trina asked, still pretending to be more interested in her book than her brother. Truthfully though, she was burning with curiosity as to what her perfectly normal parents could be doing with a secret lab hidden under their house.

"Well, in books, whenever someone finds a secret room, they bug it."

"And where do you suggest we get bugs from?" Trina asked. She half-expected him to give some answer involving insects. Instead he just grinned.

"Hayley," he said.

"Hayley would never agree to help us spy on our parents. She's probably in on it. That computer looked several billion years too modern to be Dad's work."

"She doesn't have to know what we're doing. I told her that you wanted to record a song for Kat's birthday and look." He reached into his back pack and pulled out a tape recorder. "I've got a stack of blank tapes too. We just sneak this down into that lab, leave it on record and we'll hear whatever they talk about."

That was actually a very good idea. Trina wasn't about to say so, but she was surprised by how well he'd thought this through. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Hang on. Why did you say I wanted to make the song?"

"I'm not singing anything," Will replied.

"How long do those tapes last?" Trina asked, hoping to be able to pick holes in the plan now that it was apparent she'd have to sing something. If she didn't, people were bound to get suspicious if Hayley mentioned the tape recorder.

"Three hours each side, and the tape recorder automatically switches sides. If we put it down there early, we should be able to record the whole morning."

Will had done well. Plus, if Dad or Kat found the tape recorder, Hayley would remember giving it to Will and so Trina would be able to deny everything. All in all, it was a great plan.

"When do we do this then?" she asked, not quite able to keep the excitement from her voice.

"This Saturday. We can hide the tape recorder when Kat goes out shopping and Dad's jogging."

Trina grinned. Only two more days and then they'd know what was going on.

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The tape recorder was in place. Trina had stood watch in the study while Will went down and hid it. Now they just had to wait until Dad came back. He usually spent some time in the study on Saturdays after his work-out.

The twins were sparring behind the house. It was hard for Trina to keep her mind on the fight when she kept wondering what mysteries would be on the tape by the end of the day. Will was taking full advantage of the opportunity to actually beat her. He was grinning like crazy as he once again threw Trina to the ground.

"Laugh it up," she said, "it'll be you falling flat on your back next week. As usual."

"I only let you win 'cause you're a girl."

"Let me? Oh please. You don't let me do anything. You're useless." But even Trina knew that wasn't true. She had to practice extremely hard to ensure she stayed better than her brother. He might not win as often as she did, but he was still able to win some of the time.

Any further bickering was stalled by the sound of an engine. The twins hurried round the house to see a guy dismounting a motor bike.

"Uncle Jase!" Trina ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

"Hey there." Jason lifted Trina off the ground and spun her round. "Woah! You are way too big to be doing this," he said. But he'd been saying that for about three years now, so Trina didn't think he'd stop any time soon.

"Hey, buddy!" Jason high-fived Will.

"Where's your dad?" Jason asked.

"Out jogging," Will replied. "He'll be back soon."

"You two still practicing your karate? Think you could take me yet?"

"Yeah," said Trina with a teasing grin, "but we're not supposed to fight the elderly."

"Elderly! I'll show you elderly!"

Jason darted at Trina, tickling her stomach. She squeeled involuntarily, and tried to tickle back. Will joined in too, getting Jason under the ribs. Pretty soon, all three of them were on the ground, laughing and tickling.

"I hope you're not abusing my kids," came an amused voice. Trina stopped tickling to see her dad standing a short distance away laughing.

"Are you kidding?" Jason said, getting to his feet and pulling a leaf out of his hair, "They're abusing me."

"Well, I'd better rescue you then. Coffee?"

"Please."

The two adults headed into the house.

"You think Uncle Jase knows about the secret room?" Will asked.

"Probably," Trina answered, "They do tend to go into the study whenever Jason visits."

Today proved to be no exception. It looked like they might have some interesting stuff recorded on that tape soon. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three **

The twins snuck downstairs once they were absolutely certain their parents were asleep. They had to be especially careful not to make any noise as Jason was sleeping on the couch. Although, as Will had pointed out, Jason could probably sleep through a spaceship landing on the roof. They made their way down to the lab, which was still lit up despite the time. Will recovered the tape recorder from where he'd hidden it inside the mouth of one of the fossil dinosaurs.

And then they hurried back up their bedroom.

The crouched on Will's bed, the covers pulled up over them to muffle the sound, and then they turned the tape recorder on to the lowest possible volume. They fast-forwarded through the bit where the lab was empty, and then listened carefully as the first noises began. The two grinned at each other in the darkness at the prospect of the wonderful secrets they were about to discover together.

"What's this all about, Tommy?" came Jason's voice.

"It's about my will," their dad answered.

"What about him?"

"No, I mean... I mean my last will and testament. I've been revising it."

"Oh," said Jason. Trina felt just as speechless. She supposed this was just her dad being cautious. She hoped it was.

"Obviously, Kat gets everything," their dad went on, "but just in case anything happens to her, I want you to look after the kids."

"Nothing's going to happen to either of you." There was a pause. "Unless you know something I don't?"

There was another, unbearable pause. Trina found Will's hand and clung to it, waiting anxiously for her dad's next words but at the same time not daring to hear what they might be, just in case they confirmed her worst fears.

"The sword's been a bit odd lately," Dad said at last.

In the darkness, Trina frowned in confusion. She could just about make out Will's face as he mouthed a puzzled, 'sword?' at her.

"Odd doesn't even begin to describe that sword at the best of times," Jason said, obviously trying to inject some humour into his tone and failing miserably.

"I think it's calling for a new Bearer," Dad said. There was another silence. Trina was desperately trying to work out what was being said, but she was missing too much of the context. All she understood was that her father was worried, and that terrified her. He'd seemed so normal at dinner, cheerfully joking with Jason like there was nothing in the world that was wrong. How could he have been hiding this?

"A new Bearer doesn't necessarily mean," Jason began, but didn't finish. He clearly couldn't face the thought of Tommy's death any more than Trina could.

"The sword calls for a new Bearer when extra strength is going to be needed in a coming battle, or the old sword Bearer is going to die. Or both."

There was another pause. Beneath the bedclothes, Trina could hear the uneven shaking of her brother's breath as he tried not to cry. This couldn't be happening. Dad was always there. He'd taught them karate from the moment they'd learned to walk. He'd read them bedtime stories and taken them for picnics in the park. He'd never missed a school play, even when she'd told him that he could because she had such a crummy part.

He couldn't just not be there anymore.

"Have you told Kat?" Jason asked.

"What can I tell her? 'Honey, I have a suspicion I might die soon but I can't tell you why.'"

"Kat's no stranger to weirdness. She'd believe you."

"And what if I'm wrong? No one really understands the sword. I don't want to worry her and then discover that the sword's actually doing something different."

"So what do we do?"

"We act normal. If the sword calls a new Bearer, I may tell her then, but for now there's no reason for her or the kids to know anything about this. If I am going to die soon, I just want to enjoy my last weeks with them without having them feeling awkward."

"Is there anything I can do?" Jason asked.

"Not unless you can changes history."

The next voice on the tape was Kat's rather muffled and calling that it was time for lunch. After that there was only silence.

Tears flowed freely down Trina's cheeks. She wished she'd never listened to Will about there being a secret in the study. She wished she'd never agreed about hiding the tape recorder. She wished she hadn't just heard what she'd heard.

Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe she'd wake up and it would be tomorrow morning she'd have just fallen asleep before they'd had the chance to recover the tape. Maybe none of this was really happening.

"Dad can't die," whispered Will, "Can he?" 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Trina was roused from somewhat disturbed sleep by the sounds of voices. She stumbled sleepily from her bed, Will doing likewise, and followed the sounds of incoherent shouts from the room. Dad was already out of his bedroom and rushing down the stairs, Kat coming at a more sedate pace, fastening a pink dressing gown around herself as she yawned her way downstairs.

Train headed with the others to the living room, where Jason was thrashing on the couch, caught up in what must be a truly horrific dream. Dad was there, trying to calm him.

"Get out of my head!" Jason came awake with a yell, nearly hitting Dad in his nightmare-induced panic. Dad grabbed Jason's flailing arms.

"Jase, Jase, it's just a dream. You're safe."

"Oh man," Jason muttered. Then he saw the rest of the family standing watching him. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault, Jason," said Kat, "Everyone gets bad dreams. You want some cocoa or something?"

"No, I'll be fine. You guys just go back to bed."

Tommy turned to them and gave a reassuring smile, "Go on."

"Come on, kids," said Kat, "back to bed."

They left the living room, Kat giving each of the twins a gentle push in the direction of the stairs before heading into the kitchen. Trina hesitated a moment.

"It wasn't just a dream, was it?" asked Dad.

"She's looking for something," Jason answered.

"What?"

"I don't know. Something that she thinks will help her find the Order."

"Oi," Kat stuck her head out of the kitchen door. "Bed."

Trina reluctantly headed up the stairs and back to her bedroom. She was thoroughly exhausted, what with staying up late to fetch the tape and now this, but she didn't think she'd be able to sleep. Her head was rushing with confused thoughts. So much didn't make sense. Only a few days ago, her life had been ordinary. Now, she didn't even know who her parents were or what they were up to.

She curled up beneath the covers and tried to clear her mind, but she kept running over the words that she'd heard on the tape. She thought of Jason's terror from whatever had caused his bad dream and of her dad, expressing his worries about death. The solid foundations of her life had been shattered and now she was falling through a chaos of secrets that she couldn't comprehend. Dad and Uncle Jase were both scared by something she didn't know about, and they were never scared of anything. That unknown was more terrifying now to Trina than any monster ever could be.

Sobs came, unbidden and unwanted.

She wished it was yesterday.

There was movement in the darkness then the bed shifted as Will climbed beside her. Trina felt his arms wrap around her.

Trina wanted to thank him, but she couldn't bring herself to actually say the words. She just lay there in the darkness and hoped he understood how much this meant, how much she needed this right now. Most of the time, she might claim to hate her brother, but she wouldn't want anyone else beside her as she faced this new, uncertain future.

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The room was large and rectangular, with two rows of pillars making an avenue from the single door to the only item in the room, an enormous, gold gem held in a gold stand. Gold was the only touch of colour in the room. Walls, floor, ceiling and pillars were all pure white, apart from thin lines of gold decoration up the pillars. Everything was clean and bare and empty, making the faint glow of the gem all the more obvious.

The door opened and a man walked in. In stark contrast to his surroundings, he was dressed in black, ninja clothes, a mask concealing his face. Across his chest he wore a red sash, made brilliantly noticeable by the lack of colour elsewhere. The sash was his honour and a burden far heavier than any piece of cloth should be.

The man walked reverently through the room, stopping when he stood in front of the gem. He hesitated only briefly before reaching out his hand, closing his eyes as he did so as to better see the images in his mind.

He saw a warrior with silvered eyes, which shone like mirrors in his face, showing no sign of a soul beneath him. He saw a man, dressed much as he was but with a golden sash across his chest. The man had tears in his eyes as he spoke, "I have given this Order everything, but you can't ask me to give my children." Another voice answered, the speaker unseen, "They were never your children to give." There were explosions. A city lay in ruins. Bodies were piled into mass graves. The screams of the dead and dying assaulted his thoughts. In the middle of the chaos, two children stood, holding hands as each reached out to call on the sword.

The man snatched his hand from the jewel. The chaos of the vision faded, the harsh sights of sounds already blurring, thankfully, now that the trance of seeing was severed. The future wasn't set, he knew. The images of death might be a warning of things he was supposed to change.

But he'd seen what he'd been looking for. He'd seen who was destined to hold the Sword of Orasella next.

Tommy was going kill him when he found out. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"The princess was stupid," complained Trina, moaning about the movie they'd rented the night before, "She didn't even try and fight the monsters in the swamp. And the only time she picked up a dagger was to kill herself. She should have stabbed the evil prince instead."

She, Will and Jason were walking through the park. Under the bright sun, it was almost possible to forget all that she'd heard and seen.

"The Italian guy was cool," said Will, picking up a stick and brandishing it with a flourish, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die."

"I don't want to be the count," said Trina, "I want to be the pirate." She grabbed a stick of her own, "The dread pirate Roberts takes no prisoners."

"Does this mean I have to be the wimpy princess?" wondered Jason as the kids started to duel. They fenced with sticks for a bit, until Trina's broke. Then they raced to the climbing tree. It was the best tree in the whole park, because they could right up to the point where the branches started bending under their weight and they could see out over the town.

"Hey, kids," Jason called from the base of the tree, "you want ice cream?" He pointed at a nearby van.

"Yeah!" called Will.

"Kat says we're not allowed ice cream before dinner," Trina pointed out.

"I won't tell if you don't."

"I want a flake in mine," she said and started climbing back down the tree while Jason wandered towards the van. Will dropped twigs in her hair from a higher branch. As Trina jumped to the ground, she turned to yell up at him, only to receive a kick in the chest.

She fell backwards, looking up at a man dressed as a ninja. He stood over her, clearly prepared to hit her again.

"Hey! Leave my sister alone!"

Will jumped from the branch he was on and landed on the ninja's back. The ninja didn't seem too peturbed by the seven year old boy and threw him to the ground. Will landed beside Trina, who was now on her feet and preparing to do what the stupid princess should have done in the movie. She hit the man in the stomach.

He could at least have pretended it hurt.

He gave a few blows, but Trina easily blocked or dodged. The ninja was slower than her dad, which didn't really make sense.

Then the ninja dealt a blow to Trina's stomach that lifted her right off the ground. She flew through the air and then landed hard. Winded and sore, she just lay there for a moment. She watched as Will tried a tornado kick. The ninja caught his foot and the boy ended up flat on his back.

"Stay away from them!"

Jason came running up, positioning himself between the ninja and the kids. He probably would have looked more threatening if he didn't have ice cream melting over his figures.

"Stand aside," the ninja said.

"Not a chance."

And then the ninja vanished. Trina blinked in surprised. One moment he'd been there, then there'd been nothing but air.

"Are you two OK?" Jason asked.

"Yeah."

"I think so."

"I think we'd better go tell your dad about this."

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The room was bright and airy, with a window overlooking the temple gardens. The room was white, but there was a black table in the centre of it. The table was shaped like a pentagon, with a black chair at each side. Four of the chairs were occupied. Three men and one woman, each dressed in the black of the ninja, each with their face concealed by a mask. Only the coloured sash each wore identified them.

The sat waiting in silence. They had been trained not to fear, but this was not a situation that had ever come up in training.

The room's door opened so hard that it slammed against the wall. Three of the figures at the table winced at the sound.

The man who stormed across from the doorway to stand at the empty place was dressed as they were, but his sash was gold. Even with the mask concealing his features, his rage was obvious.

"You sent someone to attack my kids!" It wasn't a question.

"The Gem showed them to me," said one of the men, the one wearing the red sash. "I believe they are destined to be the next Bearers."

"That's not possible," said Tommy. The initial heat of rage had faded to a cold fury that burned beneath his surface as he glared at the figures round the table.

"It has been known to happen," said the woman who wore the white sash, "for the sword to chose more than one. Particularly with siblings."

"They are not going to be sword Bearers."

"I had a vision of them with the sword," said red. "The laws clearly state that they must be put to the test."

"And you didn't even think to tell me!"

"The tests are written into our laws. We don't need the sword Bearer's permission to perform them on anyone."

"I did want to tell you," said the man with the blue sash, "but I'm just one vote. Unlike you, I can't go against our laws and the decision of the council."

"You will not put my children through that hell."

"The laws are clear," said the woman, "that anyone shown by the Gem to be holding the sword must be tested. No matter who they might be."

"We have to test them according to the rules," said blue. Tommy thought that maybe there'd been a slight stress on the first word. He thought on what else that man had said and he understood. As sword Bearer, Tommy wasn't bound to follow the laws as closely as the others must. He could interfere.

He turned and walked from the room. 


	6. Chapter 6

** Chapter Six**

"Kids, I need to talk to you," said Dad, looking all too serious. No doubt this was about the ninja guy in the park. Jason had told Kat and Dad all about it and the kids had been sent up to their room while their parents argued in the kitchen. Now, Trina hurried over to sit next to Dad on the couch, Will taking the place at his other side. Maybe they'd finally get some answers.

Dad put an arm around each of the kids and Trina felt him squeeze her shoulder in what was probably meant to be a reassuring way. It just served to emphasize how nervous he was.

"This is more important than anything I've ever said to you before," Dad went on.

Trina nodded excitedly, almost forgetting to be scared in her eagerness to learn the truth.

"You may be attacked again by that ninja, or by a group of them. If they attack you, I want you to scream. I want you to run away. Faint if at all possible," he told Trina with a slight grin.

"Faint?" she poured a huge amount of scorn into that word.

"I want you to act like one of those wimpy princesses you hate so much in movies. I want you to look terrified and beg for your lives. If one of you gets caught, offer to turn in the other in exchange for your freedom. I want you two to act like the biggest pair of cowards the world has ever seen."

"Why do you want us to be cowards?" Will asked.

"I know you're not cowards. Jason told me how you tried to fight that guy. But I want you to pretend. These people don't care about cowards. Act scared and they'll leave you alone and you'll be safe."

Trina didn't like the idea of pretending to be scared. She knew her dad was only trying to protect them. He wouldn't tell them this if he didn't think it was the best thing for them, but she wondered why he'd bothered to teach them how to fight if they weren't allowed to. Dad and Kat always treated them like babies, but maybe they were ready to learn whatever secrets that were hidden from them.

"I love you," Dad said, kissing first Will then Trina on the cheek, "and I don't want you involved in this. There are things you don't know about me that I hope to tell you one day, but not this. This is something I never, ever, ever wanted you two or Kat to get caught up in. Please trust me. Pretend."

"OK, Dad," said Will.

"I love you, Dad," Trina said, and hugged him. He hugged both of the twins tightly. She hoped Dad didn't notice that she hadn't actually promised. She still wasn't sure. Maybe if she knew why this was so important.

They'd have to sneak the tape recorder back into the lab.

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Trina crept down the stairs. It was early enough to still be dark outside. Will was asleep. They'd been supposed to take turns staying awake, but he'd fallen asleep during his turn and it had been pure luck, or possibly nerves, that had meant Trina had still woken up in time.

She reached study, trying not to trip over any of the mess in the darkness.

The secret trapdoor was already open.

"What if a giant, floating head turned up and told them they were destined to be Rangers? You wouldn't object then." Jason's voice came up through the hole in the floor.

"Of course I'd object," said Dad, "I'd be downright terrified for them. They're seven years old. Even Justin had reached double figures."

"I'm just saying that if the twins are meant for this, maybe you should let destiny take its course."

"Being in the Order isn't like being a Ranger, Jase."

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about coordinating your wardrobe."

"I'm serious. The Rangers fight battles against monsters and mutants and aliens and they win. They can see the difference they make and the lives they save."

Rangers? As in Power Rangers? She knew her parents had lived in the town that the Rangers had first come to, but this was unbelievable. Trina grinned at the darkness and strained to hear more.

"So it's OK to save the world, but only if everyone can see it?"

"The Order's master plan is to hide until the end of time. There's no victory. Ever. I don't want my kids to be involved in a war against an enemy that can never be defeated. No matter how bad the Rangers' enemies were, they've always been stopped. But that's not the case with her. I don't want the twins to spend the rest of their lives living in fear of her. I took the sword because I was told it was destiny, but I hate it. There's no way in hell I'm going to put my kids through this. I'm going to let them stay ignorant, because I wish I could forget it all myself."

"Me too," said Jason so quietly that Trina could barely hear. "I wish I'd just minded my own business and never learned about her either."

That was enough. She could stay and listen more, but by the sounds of it, that was what Uncle Jase now regretted doing. Maybe it was best just to accept the fact that her Dad had secrets. Trina quietly slipped back out of the room and up the stairs.

She didn't know her dad's secret any more now than she had done earlier. But this wasn't about him thinking her too little or too weak. This was about him caring so much about her that he wanted to shield her from something even he was scared of.

She put the tape recorder back under her bed and got in. She would act. She would scream. She would be the wimpiest coward imaginable. Because if her dad was scared, it wouldn't really take any pretending at all to be scared herself.

She lay staring at the ceiling, wondering how to faint.  



	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The twins were out behind the house running through katas with Dad. Kat was at the sports centre preparing her ballet class for the show that came at the end of their summer course. Jason had apparently had a legitimate reason for visiting Reefside, because he'd gone off to talk to a business client. It was strange how normal things seemed, despite everything Trina now knew or suspected about her parents.

"You guys keep practicing that," Dad said, "I'll go get us some drinks."

Trina was definitely ready for something to drink. It felt like they'd been working on this new kata for hours. But she wasn't going to stop until Will did.

Then there was a ninja standing in front of her.

The man had appeared out of thin air and it was not acting that caused her to yelp and leap backwards. She was grabbed from behind by another one and could see that a third was approaching Will.

She screamed.

She struggled feebly against the grips on her shoulder, managing not to use any of the martial arts she'd just been practicing. She looked up at the man in front of her, his face entirely hidden, only a blue sash across his chest marking him as different from the others that were appearing around them. Trina could see someone with a red sash approaching Will, who was now yelling for Dad.

"Please don't hurt me," Trina said, her voice shaking without her even trying. There was something really, really creepy about the silent, faceless attackers and Trina remembered the fear that had been in her dad's voice.

She was sobbing without really meaning to. She could hear Will begging for them to let him go. Trina was the smart one, they should just take her.

Trina wanted to kick the man in front of her, or tread on the foot of the guy holding her, or something. All that had happened over the past few days and the sight of these silent fighters were making her terrified without her having to try. But her normal reaction to fear would be fighting. It was really hard just to stand there and sob. But that was what she did as the man with the blue sash stared down at her.

And then Dad came around the house. He didn't attack. He just stood there for a few seconds, watching the black-clad men surrounding the twins.

The ninjas vanished.

Except for the one with the blue sash. He lingered a moment longer and nodded to Dad before he disappeared as well.

Then Dad rushed across to the twins and through an arm around each of them. He hugged them so tightly that Trina could barely breathe.

"Well done," Dad said, "You did brilliantly. I love you. I love you."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Did it work?" Jason asked. He was with Tommy in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Tommy sliced through carrots, almost glad that he was able to attack something.

"For a while at least. The decision was that they're obviously far too young and should be tested again in a few years."

"So we just have to hope they've all forgotten about it by then?"

"Or are dead," Tommy said, only partly joking.

There was a silence punctuated by the crunch of decimated carrots and rustling of pasta as Jason measured out portions into a saucepan.

"The guy in the blue sash?" Jason asked, "Would that be who I think it is?"

"Yeah." The promotion had come a little over a month ago, when the previous leader of the water element had been killed. Tommy was ashamed that he'd almost been relieved; it was good to have someone leading the Order who he knew without a doubt was on his side.

"Well, blue always was a good colour on him, but he's not exactly the first guy I'd expect to be picked as a leader of a secret, ninja organisation."

Tommy chuckled slightly, "Well, the leader of water is supposed to be the pillar of knowledge, so it sort of makes sense."

"I guess this is over then," said Jason.

Tommy brought the knife down hard. It went through the carrot and slammed into the chopping board, making Jason jump. Tommy turned to Jason with an angry glare.

"Why did you have to say that?"

"What?"

"That's almost as bad as 'at least things can't get any worse' or 'I'd expected more resistance than this.' When someone says 'it's over now' that's the queue for the monster to grow or the Command Centre to blow up. Something weird is guaranteed to happen now."

"Tommy, you're part of an organisation so secret even your wife doesn't know about it and you've got a trio of glowing stones in your basement. I think something weird will happen to you no matter what I say."

"I'm still going to blame it on you."

"Oh, quit worrying about what I say. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the fact that I'd have to go back to school tomorrow." Jason gave an over-dramatic shudder at the suggestion.

Tommy threw a piece of carrot at him. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Tommy was awoken by a prod in the ribs and, rather more welcome, the aroma of coffee.

"Time to go to school," Kat said, wafting coffee fumes his way to entice him out of bed.

"Five more minutes, mum?" joked Tommy, but he was already pushing himself up into a sitting position to take the mug.

"You're worse than the kids," Kat laughed. A brief shower later and Tommy was feeling considerably more ready to face the day. The twins were already at the breakfast table.

"I want to be at the sports centre early," said Kat to the twins, "to set up for the first after-school ballet class of the semester, so your dad will be picking you up from school." She actually said the last part to Tommy, giving him a semi-glare.

"I won't forget," Tommy said. Kat continued to stare at him. "I won't. I promise. We were planning on going to the dino exhibit at the museum after school, weren't we kids?"

"Can't we just catch the bus home?" asked Will, not sounding at all excited by the prospect of a museum full of skeletons. But, even though the Order had agreed to leave his kids alone, he couldn't shake the feeling that the sword was calling for someone. That meant Tommy was going to be cramming as many family outings into the next few weeks as possible.

"No," said Kat firmly. "You are going to wait at the school for your dad and he is going to pick you up." Kat was still worried the kids might be attacked. Tommy couldn't do much to persuade her otherwise. All he could say was that he thought they wouldn't be back, but he couldn't tell her that he'd actually had them say as much to him. She would probably be worrying about this for months.

"Your dad and I have a back to school present for each of you," Kat went on, handing over two small boxes. Eager for the prize, both twins tore open their boxes to reveal cell phones.

"You are not to call anyone except us or your Uncle Jase," said Tommy, "and only in an emergency. If the ninjas or anyone else shows up, you're to call us right away. Our numbers are in the phones' memories."

"Keep the phones with you," Kat said, "but don't show them to anyone. If the teachers find out, they'll probably confiscate them. You just hide these in your bags in case you get in trouble."

"Thank you," said Trina, hugging Kat.

"Thanks," said Will.

"Now, you should get school. All three of you."

The twins ran off to get their bags and Tommy picked up his briefcase. He gave Kat a quick kiss.

"The kids will be fine," he promised her.

"I know. But there are still times I think home schooling is the safest plan." Tommy knew how much Kat worried. They had too many enemies who could use the kids to get to them. Even though neither of them were Rangers any more, there were still plenty of monsters out there who might want revenge for past defeats. But Tommy wanted the twins to be as normal as possible for as long as possible. He was fairly certain their lives would be anything but normal when they hit their teen years and were old enough to wear colour-coded costumes.

For now though, they were just kids. Being special was all well and good, but there was so much different about them already that he wanted to do anything to give them a normal life, a normal childhood. And that meant school and teachers and boredom. No need for them to worry about the fate of the world until they were at least sixteen.

"Good luck," Kat said.

"Thanks," Tommy replied. He headed out to the car with the kids, wondering just how different high school would be. He'd taught plenty of kids karate, but that was not the same as having to control a classroom. Right now, he felt more nervous than he'd ever felt in all his years as a Ranger.

"Remember about those phones," Tommy told the twins, "They're not for showing off to all the new friends you're about to make. They're just for emergencies."

"We know how to keep a secret, Dad," Trina said, sounding somewhat offended.

Tommy nodded. Sometimes it seemed everything in his life was part of some secret or another.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Who are they?" Trina asked when Dad's car pulled up with a group of teenagers in it.

"I got detention on my first day," Dad said with a slight laugh. "They're coming with us to the museum."

"Great," muttered a guy in a red soccer shirt, "museums and babysitting. Randall sure knows how to punish."

The twins squeezed into the back seat between a girl in yellow and a black guy in blue who was playing on a gameboy. None of them seemed keen on saying anything to the kids.

"So, how was your day at school?" Dad asked.

"The history teacher smells," Will said.

"I think that's a requirement for history teachers," Dad chuckled. "Anything exciting happen?"

Trina guessed that was his way of asking if anyone had attacked them.

"Not really," Will answered. And that was about it for conversation. It was hard to really think of anything to say while there were three strangers in the car.

"Right, we're here," said Dad eventually, sounding very relieved.

"Check out the t-rex." One of the teenagers was staring at a huge model of a dinosaur built outside the museum.

"That's weird," muttered Dad as they climbed from the car and saw a closed sign in front of the entrance. Trina wasn't all that disappointed. It was nice that Dad wanted to do stuff with them, but looking at a pile of bones wasn't her favourite past-time. Besides, Dad had plenty of dead things back at home.

"Oh well, no museum for us," said one of the teenagers, sounding more pleased about it than Trina felt.

"Great, let's go home." The girl didn't even pretend to be disappointed.

"Tell you what," said Dad, "Why don't you guys have a look around the grounds? If any of you guys find anything prehistoric, I'll cancel detention for the rest of the week. I'm going to see if I can find someone who can tell us when they're opening up."

The teenagers started to head off, but Will asked, "Can we go too?" Clearly he really didn't want to visit the museum. Dad thought about it for a long moment. Trina guessed he was still worrying about ninjas, but then he agreed.

"OK," he said, "but if either of you decides to climb something and hurts yourself, you're the ones in trouble, not them."

"OK," Trina agreed, grabbing her bag. She wanted to have the phone on her just in case the ninjas did come back, though Dad had promised they wouldn't.

The twins followed the teenagers as they set off into the woods. Trina looked round at the trees and wondered how close they were to home. It must be fairly near. The teenagers were bickering about stuff and Trina happily ignored them, wondering if maybe she should have stuck with Dad. Listening to two teenagers arguing about computers and girls wasn't any more fun that dinosaur bones.

"All I'm trying to do is give you guys the heads up," said the black guy. "Stuff happens out here. Just don't come crying to me when you fall in a giant sink hole."

Trina just had time to think that that sounded really unlikely, when the ground disappeared beneath her feet. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Why isn't this working?" Trina moaned.

Connor snatched the phone from her.

"'Cause we're a hundred feet underground and there's no signal," he said. He shoved the phone back into her hands. Trina glared at him. She might be seven, but she was still a human being.

"You guys stay here where it's safe," Connor said. "I'll climb up and come back with help."

Trina didn't even try to hide her delight that he didn't even make it a foot off the ground. OK, so it did mean they were still stuck in a dark hole, but at least he was humiliated.

"Back already?" said Ethan, also amused.

The group set off through the caves they'd apparently landed in. If it wasn't safe to get out here, they had to find somewhere else they could reach the surface. The teenagers kept arguing the whole way, practically oblivious to the fact the twins were there. It wasn't long before they found a skeleton embedded in a wall. Trina thought there was something slightly familiar about it.

"This screams Jurassic Park to me," said Kira.

"This'll get us out of detention forever," said Connor, reaching up to take one of the bones. Clearly that guy had never been to an archaeological dig. Trina knew that Dad would prefer all the bones were left here rather than take the risk of the teenagers damaging anything. But they weren't going to listen to her.

He pulled on the jaw.

And a door opened in the cave wall.

At least she knew why she'd thought the skeleton familiar. They walked into the lab that was under their house. The teenagers were staring round in amazement. The twins were wondering if they'd get in trouble for being here.

Connor wandered to the rock with the weird, coloured gems that the twins had noticed on their first visit here.

"Yo, don't touch that," said Ethan.

"Why not?"

"You really are taking this whole dumb jock thing to a whole new level."

"Look, I have sat through enough lame science classes to know that that thing looks fully prehistoric. And if I don't have to miss practice..."

"I hate to agree with him," said Kira, "really, I do, but I've already missed one rehearsal."

Trina and Will watched them arguing. She felt she probably ought to do something to prevent these guys taking something of Dad's as they reached out for the weird stones.

"Isn't that kinda stealing?" she asked.

The teenagers hesitated, then Ethan said, "Well, anyone who's got a secret lair like this, can't be up to anything good. We could be preventing some supervillain from destroying the earth."

"You read too many comics," said Kira. Will looked utterly furious, but Trina grabbed his arm before he said anything.

"Shut up," she hissed in his ear. "We don't know about this place."

The teenagers took the stones, which glowed in their hands in their individual colours.

"Well, what are they?" asked Kira.

"I can go online later and look them up," said Ethan.

Connor started to say something, but then the terrifying sound of footsteps reached them. The teenagers rushed off to hide. Connor grabbed Trina and she found herself pulled down behind a large box with his hand over her mouth. She wondered about treading on his toe and seeing if he managed to stay quiet. She also wondered about who it could be. Dad was still at the museum and Kat would be at the sports centre with her ballet class.

Then she started to wonder how long she'd be forced to stay in this awkward crouched position that was getting more uncomfortable by the moment.

Then her phone rang.

Of all the times for it to get a signal again.

"Who's there?"

Connor let go and Trina stepped sheepishly out from behind the box, rummaging in her bag for her phone. Jason was standing by the computer.

"How did you get down here?" he asked. The others were also coming out of their feeble hiding places.

"Hello?" Trina answered the phone.

"Oh thank god," came Dad's voice. "Are you and Will OK?" He must have realised they weren't in the museum grounds anymore.

"Yeah, we all fell in a big hole and ended up in some caves and Connor pulled a dinosaur bone and now we're in a weird lab with Uncle Jase."

"Jason's there?"

"Uh huh."

"Give him the phone."

Trina held it out to Jason, "It's Dad."

"Tommy, what's going on?" There was a moment's silence. "Chased by a what?" said Jason, shortly followed by, "No, forget I asked."

Trina now wanted to know. Jason continued his conversation with Dad, but clearly she wasn't the only one filled with curiosity.

"You know this guy?" asked Kira.

"Uncle Jase," said Trina. "He went to high school with Dad and Kat."

"And the lab?" asked Connor. Trina just shrugged. It was better than either other option. She didn't want to lie but she didn't want to admit she already knew about this place.

There was a beeping from the computer. Jason turned to it, the phone still pressed to his ear. Something appeared on the screen. At first thought Trina thought it must be a clip from a horror movie or something. Strange creatures were moving through trees. Then Jason started talking rapidly and worriedly.

"You're whole area is filled with scaly creatures. They're in the woods. There's not sign of any more human beings near them, but they're heading in the direction of the town. They'll end up meeting the population sooner or later." There was a pause while Dad said something. "No way! There are too many of them for you to tackle alone." Another pause. "Tommy, I can... Damn it!" He glared at the phone. Presumably Dad had just hung up.

"Stupid, suicidal, martyr-complexed hero," Jason muttered.

"Is Dad OK?" Will asked, sounding utterly terrified. Trina had to join him in those feelings. She knew her dad was an awesome fighter, but those creatures looked like horrible monsters. She didn't know if he could even one of them, much less the hundreds that were on the computer screen.

"He'll be fine," Jason said. He pressed the phone into Trina's hands. "I'm going to help him. You three, watch the twins." Then he rushed out through the door to the caves.

The five left behind went to the computer, where the monsters were still heading through the woods. Trina repeated over and over that Dad would be fine. He could fight better than anyone. Uncle Jase wasn't bad either. They'd be OK.

"There's an awful lot of those things," said Ethan, shattering the frail illusion of confidence Trina was building.

Connor turned and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Kira.

"They need help."

He was out the door. Ethan and Kira looked at each other then rushed to follow him. Kira paused in the doorway and turned back to the twins.

"Uh... watch each other."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Tommy drove back to his house, Jason in the front seat beside him, the three teenagers in the back. He was still trying to work out how he was going to explain all this to them. The fact that he'd noticed some unusual abilities from them in the battle suggested that they'd soon be learning everything. If Mesagog was back, they would need Power Rangers.

For the moment, he was slightly preoccupied with worrying about the twins. Jason had assured him they'd been perfectly fine when he'd seen them, but that didn't ease Tommy's feelings. After all they'd been through lately, they had to face tyranodrones as well? He wasn't even comforted by the fact they'd been left in probably the safest place in Reefside. There was quite a lot in the lab that could probably hurt the twins if they weren't careful and the fact that not even the most precious of Will's action figures were intact suggested that carefulness was too much to hope for.

He reached the house.

"Uh oh," he said, seeing the car already parked there.

"What's the problem?" asked Kira.

"My wife's home," he answered. There'd been an attack by monsters shortly after the threats to the twins and he hadn't been with them. He knew how scared Kat had been for the kids and he'd promised he'd make sure they'd be OK. But they'd ended up falling in a sink hole and he hadn't even been there to see it. Kat was going to be furious.

He turned to Jason, "Help?"

"Not a chance," Jason replied. "Scaly dinosaur monsters are one thing, but I'm not going to protect you from Kat. I do have some self-preservation instincts."

"You didn't look this scared when a hundred of those things were coming at you," commented Connor.

"I don't have to share a bed with the tyranodrones."

Jason looked like he was going to say something, then he changed his mind with a shudder.

"Will you at least go in first and find out how angry she is?" Tommy asked.

"You're on your own, bro," Jason said. "I'll take these guys down to the lab to wait for Kat to finish with you."

Tommy climbed out of the car. Waiting wasn't going to put Kat in a better mood. Maybe if he acted like he'd nearly died fighting the tyranodrones she'd be more likely to forgive him.

She was waiting in the hallway. She stood facing the doorway, her arms crossed in silence.

Jason slipped by with barely a greeting, ushering the teenagers to the study.

"Um, hi, honey," Tommy said.

"Don't you 'hi, honey' me," Kat replied.

"The twins OK?" Tommy asked.

"They're up in their room. Of course, if you'd stayed with them like you were supposed to, you'd know that."

Tommy wondered if there was any possible excuse that was going to get him out of this one.

"I didn't leave them on their own," he said. "Those guys are pretty tough fighters. And really, it was a good job things happened this way. If they'd still been in the woods when the tyranodrones arrived, they'd have just been in more danger."

"And you would have been there to protect them."

"I'm sorry, Kat. I really am. It's just that I truly think this ninja thing is over. I had no way to know that the tyranodrones would appear."

"You had no way to know they wouldn't. Maybe you've forgotten, but I still remember what it was like to wake up every morning and wonder if there'd be a horrible monster to fight. No matter what happened with Andros and Zordon, there are still plenty of bad guys out there who would love to hurt us and who would use our children to do that."

It was slightly strange that the thing Tommy noticed most in that little rant was the single word: 'our'. It shouldn't have surprised him. After all, even since before they were married, she'd done her part in the raising of the twins. But the fact that she referred to the twins are her own, without even hesitating about it, made Tommy think.

Of course she cared for the twins. Of course she worried about them and wanted to protect them. But now Tommy wondered if it was more than just Kat's nurturing tendencies. She truly thought of them as her own. In all his fears for the twins, it hadn't occurred to Tommy that Kat would be feeling the same terror, perhaps more. Of course a mother would be furious at the man who had left her children with near-strangers after all that they'd been through recently.

"I'm sorry," Tommy said. "I was wrong. It won't happen again."

Kat's cold anger faded at his admission. "What if they'd hurt?"

"They weren't. They're safe. They will stay save."

Tommy pulled Kat into an embrace and she held him. For a few moments, he could feel her shoulders shaking slightly as she fought with sobs. Then she pulled away and wiped the traces of dampness from her eyes. She gave him a smile.

"Well, we're going to have to tell them something," she said.

"And those teenagers."

"Good luck," she said.

Tommy guessed this was his punishment. He had to find some way to explain the madness of his life to three teenagers and two terminally curious seven year olds. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

The twins rushed back into their room from where they'd been hiding on the landing to eavesdrop. Moments later, Dad opened the door.

"You're alright," said Trina, rushing over to hug him as though she hadn't got over the delight of seeing him alive and well several minutes earlier.

"Come on, kids," Dad said, "I've got a lot to tell you."

He led them downstairs and then down again into the lab. Jason and the teenagers were already there. Then Kat came down the stairs with a large jug of juice and a tray of glasses.

"So, what's going on?" asked Connor.

"Well," started Dad. Then he hesitated. Then he took a drink of juice. Then he hesitated some more.

"We used to be Power Rangers," said Jason. The teenagers looked sceptical.

Trina wasn't. After everything she'd overheard lately, this was the only real explanation. Plus, her parents had always been obsessed with the Rangers. There were books of newspaper clippings and the twins had dozens of Power Ranger toys. At least, Trina had dozens of toys, Will had dozens of mangled bits of coloured plastic.

"Awesome!" declared Will.

"I was the first Red Ranger," Jason went on. "Tommy joined a few months afterwards and he later replaced me as leader of the team when I left. Kat became the second Pink Ranger about two years after Tommy joined."

"Your mum was the first pink," Kat said.

"Really?" Trina asked. Whenever she'd asked about her real mum, she'd heard about a beautiful gymnast, but never a hint that she might be a fighter.

"A whole family of Power Rangers?" asked Ethan.

"That was years ago," Kat said.

"But when I found the Dino Gems," Dad went on, Trina guessed those were the glowing rocks, "I knew that they had the potential to give people Ranger powers. I've kept them safe, hoping they wouldn't be necessary, but it seems they've chosen you three."

"Can't they unchoose us?" asked Kira.

"Destiny doesn't work that way," said Jason.

"But, we can't be Rangers. We're just... teenagers."

"You're older than I was when I became a Ranger," said Dad.

"And me," said Jason.

"And me. And several years older than one guy was when he finished being a Ranger," said Kat.

"We can't force you to do this," said Dad. "But you've been given a great opportunity. You can stop evil and save lives. You can be figureheads for goodness. You can be a true power shaping the future of the world." Dad was looking between the three teens, sounding like he truly meant every word and doing his best to be inspirational.

It clearly worked on someone.

"Can I be a Ranger?" asked Will.

"Not until you're at least sixteen."

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"You really have to go?" asked Tommy, as Jason packed his stuff back into his bag. "If Mesagog's back, we're probably going to need help babysitting."

"Sorry, my boss may be fairly relaxed about me just sending in my work by email, but I do have to go back to the office every now and then."

Tommy guessed he should be grateful that Jason had stuck around as long as he had. He'd been here through this whole business with the twins possibly being chosen and now with new Rangers on the scene. At least no one was asking Tommy to don a Ranger suit again. Much as he'd love being a Power Ranger, he'd learned the hard way that it was too tough to try and mix saving the world with parenthood.

Tommy wondered what had happened to the child-care robot Alpha Six and Justin had tried to build.

"Well, see you, bro," said Jason.

"See you."

"Good luck with your new team."

And then Jason was heading outside to his bike. Tommy knew it wouldn't be long before Jason next visited. If he asked, Jason would drop whatever he was doing and be round in a heartbeat. But still, he hated saying goodbye.

Tommy felt a strange tingling run through his body.

It looked like he'd have something to distract him.

He sighed and glanced round to make sure none of his family were anywhere in the vicinity, and then he transmatted. Much as he hated everything else about the Order, he did like this ability they'd given him. No messing around with teleportation and bright, noticeable lights. He was just no longer in his living room, but instead in the meeting room for the head of the Order. Also, teleporting didn't allow him to change his clothes as he travelled. His ordinary clothes were transmatted to his room in the temple, while the black of the Order appeared around his body.

It was a neat trick, but he did have nightmares about getting it wrong and arriving naked in front of the entire Order.

The other four heads of the Order were waiting for him in the meeting room. Tommy took his seat at the pentagonal table.

"You called me?" he said.

"I looked in the Gem," said the leader of air, a young woman called Carlia who had been part of the Order since childhood, "and saw a vision of a woman with the sword. She is a police officer in France."

"OK, then begin testing," said Tommy. He was still worried about what this meant for his lifespan, but at least they weren't looking at his children to take his place.

"There is another potential Bearer," said Trul, the leader of fire, who Tommy severly disliked. "I looked into the Gem and was shown a young man. He's also from Earth, but not France and he's certainly not with the police."

Tommy considered for a moment,but he didn't need any longer than that. There were plenty of people who were implied as possible Bearer's by the Gem's visions. Very few of them ended up holding the sword of Orasella.

"Begin the first stage of testing for both of them. If only one passes, then we move on to the second stage for them. We can discuss things again if both pass."

There was a strange feeling to the silence in the room. It was a faint tension that suggested things that ought to be said that as yet remained locked behind closed mouths.

"What don't I know?" Tommy asked.

There was a short silence, the other four exchanging glances. Tommy turned to the leader of water:

"Billy, who is it that might be Bearer?" 


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Hunter was jogging through the forests that surrounding the Thunder Ninja Academy. This was his brief period of peace, free from frantic teachers or troublesome students. He could forget about whatever issues were waiting for him in his office, or which students had recently been sent to him as disruptive. He just ran, feeling the thud of his feet meeting earth, the wind blowing in his face. For half an hour a day, he had no cares beyond his own body.

Someone leapt out of the trees in front of him. The man was dressed in a ninja outfit, but there was no colour-trim to indicate an element and no school logo. He just wore complete black, his face hidden by a mask.

Hunter had stopped running and now stared down this man. He'd gotten through the school's defences and his poise suggested a good deal of skill. Some angry student who wanted payback for something he thought the headmaster had done wrong? Or something more sinister?

About a minute passed with the two just staring at each other, then the ninja attacked.

The first blow was slow and so easy that a first year student could have blocked it. The next few attacks were only mildly better as the man tested his opponent. Then things got hard.

Whoever this guy was, he was good. And he knew techniques that weren't taught at the Thunder Academy. Hunter recognised a few Wind Ninja moves in the man's style, as well as some Samurai attacks. And he was good at them.

The fight lasted several minutes before Hunter was able to pin his opponent.

"Who are you?" he demanded. The man didn't answer.

"Who sent you?" Hunter asked. Again, only silence answered.

Hunter reached to take off the man's mask. Someone kicked Hunter in the side. At the same moment, the man he had pinned pushed upwards to force Hunter off. Hunter rolled with the force and ended up standing facing the ninja again, though now he had two others standing beside him, all dressed identically.

"Not interested in playing fair then," muttered Hunter.

One guy had been a slight challenge. Three would really be hard.

A few seconds into the fight, he amended that assessment to very hard. These two new arrivals were at least as good as the first and Hunter had just run a couple of miles. Hunter blocked and defended, but was unable to get in many good attacks of his own. He wanted to know who the heck these guys were, but he didn't have a breath spare for asking questions.

"Sensei!"

A voice startled all of the fighters. The strangers looked at the new arrivals, a group of teenagers in the Thunder Academy uniform.

Hunter's attackers stepped away from him and then vanished. They didn't run into the trees. They didn't even ninja streak. They simply weren't there any more.

"Sensei, are you alright?" asked one of the students. Hunter nodded, but he wasn't certain.

He could have held off those three for a lot longer. He might well have beaten them eventually. But reinforcements had arrived the moment he'd defeated the first. It was quite likely that others would have turned up if he'd managed to stop these three.

They knew Thunder Ninja techniques. They also knew a whole lot of other techniques. He knew there were plenty of organisations out there who used the plain black ninja outfits as their uniforms, but they shouldn't know skills only taught in the Academies. Should they?

Hunter was rather worried that the lack of school insignia meant that these people had attended the Academies only to be thrown out. That could only mean dark ninjas.

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Apparently both the French woman and Hunter were doing well in the initial tests. Tommy wasn't really surprised about Hunter. He was rather of the opinion that anyone who'd been a Ranger would breeze through all but the final test. He didn't say that to anyone though. He wanted to make sure that the French woman reached the final test first, assuming she passed the others. If she became the next sword Bearer, then Hunter would be safe.

Tommy had never actually met Hunter. All his work for the Ranger histories to do with the Ninja Storm had been with Sensei Watanabi and his son. But still, he would rather someone he'd never heard of before take on these duties than a former Ranger. It was easier to hand this task over to a complete stranger.

Even if it might mean speaking French.

People on more than a dozen different worlds all spoke excellent English, and now Tommy might have to deal with someone who knew only a little. That was going to make the testing harder. For him at any rate.

Tommy was standing in the meeting room, staring out of the window at the temple gardens. There was a man trimming the bushes and a group of children playing on the grass. He tried to ignore the fact that they were happy here. They'd been brought up a part of this war, their parents killed by the enemy or turned into her soldiers. They'd grown up in the temple, never knowing that there could be another way of life. They played now, despite knowing that one day they would join in the war and would die, probably young and certainly violently.

Tommy watched them and wondered when had been the last time that someone in the Order had died of natural causes.

He didn't want his children part of this, no matter what.

But if something were to happen to him, would Jason be able to protect the twins? He knew about the Order, but he wasn't a part of it. There were plenty of people here who would gladly see Jason decapitated just to be on the safe side. He wouldn't be able to fight off the Order if they came for Will and Trina again.

"A new sword Bearer doesn't necessarily imply your impending demise."

Tommy turned to see Billy standing in the doorway. Billy pulled off his mask, not strictly necessary inside the temple but frequently worn because of tradition. He walked over to stand beside Tommy at the window.

"I wasn't actually worrying about myself," Tommy said.

"If the twins are destined to be sword Bearers," Billy said, "then they will hold it."

"And what if it's not destiny? What if there are thousands of people capable of being the Bearer? They might get chosen when there are hundreds of others who could also have been? This thing with Hunter and the French woman just shows that the Gem isn't too precise over who it wants to hold the sword."

"Tommy, I will do everything I can to try and keep your children out of this war," Billy promised.

"I know," Tommy answered, "but I'm still scared for them."

"You're their father. It's in the job description." 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen  
**  
The living room was the location of an epic battle. The Red and Pink Zeo Rangers (presents given in exchange for promises of secrecy) were rescuing an innocent victim (a rather battered old barbie) from a one-eyed beast (an even more battered teddy bear). The number of adventures those Rangers had had already suggested that it wouldn't be too long before they'd be needing superglue surgery.

Still, it was good to see the twins playing like that, even if the daring battle was getting a little too close to the glass vase on the windowsill. Kat had spent so much time worrying about the pair of them that it was comforting to see them arguing about whether the Rangers really would be able to climb up the edge of the radiator without getting burned to death. They deserved this period of happiness.

Kat watched them play for a little longer, but then the phone started to ring and she went through to the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Let me guess," came a woman's voice from the other end of the line, "It completely slipped Tommy's mind that he'd promised to come watch Kira's gig?"

"Hayley? What are you talking about? Tommy left here to go to the Cyberspace ages ago." Fear was laying it's familiar hands on Kat. Her stomach knotted at her worries before her mind had even had a chance to summon up images of all the possible fates that might have met Tommy.

"Well, he's not here. I tried calling his cell phone when I'd left a reasonable amount of time for him to just be late." Hayley sounded almost as worried as Kat felt. Sure, Tommy could take care of himself, but he had an uncanny knack for ending up in situations where all his skills at survival were needed.

"I'll go to the lab and see if I can find him using the satellite surveillence. You call me the moment he shows up." Kat didn't dare say 'if'. Tommy would show up.

"If he doesn't get here soon, I'll see if the shop across the road will let me look at their CCTV footage."

Kat hung up and was half-way across the room when the phone rang again. She raced back and picked up the handset with a frantic, "Tommy?"

"'Fraid not. It's Jason. Something wrong?"

"Probably not," Kat answered. "Tommy left here to go to the Cyberspace over an hour ago and he's not got their."

"You know Tommy. He's probably remembered something he was supposed to have done by last Monday and got distracted."

"Yeah. Probably."

"Kat, Tommy is the best fighter I know and he's got so much worth fighting for. He'll be alright."

"Yeah," Kat said again, feeling no more confident. No matter how strong she knew Tommy to be, she also knew he could be beaten. Her imagination was conjuring up images of him bleeding to death in a ditch somewhere, or his crumpled into a tree, or Tommy chained in some monster's dungeon.

"Did you have a reason for calling?" she asked, hoping that changing the subject would help distract her from the rising panic.

"Not really," Jason answered. "I was hoping to talk to Tommy but it's nothing important. Ask him to call me when he shows up and you're done yelling at him."

"Yeah, I will." Kat hung up.

Then she looked across to the kitchen door. It seemed that the Rangers had defeated the teddy bear, because the twins stood watching her. Kat had no idea how long they'd been there or how much they'd heard, but the frightened expressions on their faces suggested that it had been enough.

"Is Dad alright?" asked Trina.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hunter's bedroom was protected by mystical wards, a shield provided by Cam and a brand new lock that the guy in the shop promised was the best available anywhere. Maybe now he could get some sleep.

He'd been attacked twenty-seven times in the past three weeks and he was bruised, sore and utterly exhausted. The worst thing was that he was still no closer to knowing who his attackers were. So many organisations in the galaxy wore ninja uniforms. Hunter guessed from the fighting style that these were something to do with the Academies or some of their members had been trained here, but none of the records he'd found gave any clues as to what they could want. Other than him beaten to a pulp, of course.

They weren't interested in anyone else. Hunter supposed it was a small mercy that these guys weren't attacking the students, but it didn't help him with his problem. Every time he was alone, they came. They disappeared again as soon as someone else arrived. This at least meant he was able to teach his classes properly, but Hunter couldn't ask people to stay with him constantly. The students already suspected something as it was.

But his room was as secure as he could make it. There was nothing in the Academy records that could give any more protection than he'd already put in place. He turned off the light, lay back and tried to sleep.

He reached out to grab the hand that went for his throat.

Hunter wasn't sure if he'd heard the attacker or sensed them by instinct, but he knew he was no longer alone in his room. He kicked out at a shadowy figure and continued the movement to bring himself out of bed and standing facing a group of people who were little more than darker patches in the room.

"What do you people want?" Hunter demanded. It was a question he'd asked over and over, so often that he wasn't really expecting an answer.

"The final piece of the scroll of destiny." It was a woman's voice. Hunter peered into the darkness and could make out another ninja figure, but this one wore a white sash across her chest.

The scroll of destiny? That was what this was about?

"Everything that the scroll predicted has happened," said Hunter. He still couldn't quite work out why they'd attack him like this for that piece of paper. Why wouldn't they attack someone at the Wind Academy? That was where the piece of scroll was kept. Why would they want it at all? There were no more future secrets predicted by it, just the description of the Wind Rangers facing Lothor and that had already come to pass.

"If you think it's finished with," said the woman, "you should have no worries about handing it over to me. Give me the scroll and you will never see us again. There will be no more attacks. You will have nothing more to fear from us."

Then they vanished. For half an instant Hunter thought about how tempting it was to end these constant attacks in exchange for what was now just a piece of parchment and some ink. Then he realised that was what they must want. They wanted him worn out and miserable. They wanted him to be hurt and tired because then he might give up something important in exchange for peace.

It wasn't going to happen. If they thought the scroll was important still, then so did he and he would never hand it over to people like them.

He just had to find some way to fight them.  



	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Jason hung up the phone. He hoped he'd sounded casual enough. He hadn't wanted to sound too worried. But then again, if Tommy wasn't at home and hadn't told Kat why, should he have sounded more concerned? He'd been so worried about trying not to sound worried if Kat answered that he'd been totally thrown by her news. And still he was in a state of semi-panic.

He had to talk to Tommy.

"Hey! Ninja guys!" he yelled to his empty apartment. "I need to talk to Tommy or Billy." Only silence answered him. All appearances suggested that the apartment was indeed empty.

"Come on. I know you guys spy on my," Jason went on, speaking to the air. "Do something useful and tell Tommy I want to speak to him."

"Why are you trying to contact us?" asked a voice, making Jason nearly jump out of his skin. He spun round to see a ninja standing in his living room.

"Don't you have a less sneaky way of arriving?" asked Jason.

"Why are trying to speak to us?" the question was filled with undisguised dislike. "You were told that you would be allowed to live on the conditions that you didn't speak of us to anyone or try to interfere in anyway."

"I need to speak to either Tommy or Billy," said Jason, not about to be intimidated. "It's highly personal and very important. I'm not interfering." Sure, it did involve these guys in a major way, but Jason considered the contents of his mind to be extremely personal so he didn't feel too guilty about bending the truth.

"You could do with losing the attitude. You should be dead."

"And I think most of you guys will continue to think so no matter how polite I am, so will you go and get my friends."

The ninja vanished into thin air and Jason was left alone in his apartment again. Or at least was given back the appearance of being alone. But not for long. Maybe a minute later, another ninja appeared from nowhere, but this man wore a blue sash across his chest.

"Hi," said Jason, suddenly awkward. "No Tommy?"

"No. If you want to talk to Tommy, you do have a phone," said Billy. Jason knew that the Order had changed Billy, but hearing him talk without dropping in a dozen polysyllabic words into every sentence really drove home how different he was now.

"I tried calling. He's not home and Kat doesn't know where he is. I figured he was with you guys."

"Well he's not." Billy didn't sound too concerned. "What's this about?"

"Is anyone else in the Order listening in?" Jason asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'd know if they were."

Jason hesitated. He trusted Billy and they had to know this, but he still hated the thought of actually bringing up in words what was going on in his head. Speaking about it just made it more real to him.

"I had another of those dreams where I'm connected to her." He didn't say her name. He didn't even dare think her name. He knew he was supposed to be under the protection of the Gem now, but the thought of her still frightened him. She could get into the mind of anyone who thought her name and Jason didn't want to go through that again.

"Jason, we agreed you'd ignore this. If anyone else in the Order finds out you're still telepathically connected to our enemy, no matter how tenuous the link may be, you won't survive a week."

"But this is important. She's found a way through your defences."

"Impossible."

"She is confident she's found a way to get one of her soldiers inside the temple."

"Then she's mistaken," Billy said, sounding far too confident.

"You got us in," Jason pointed out.

"I was able to penetrate the physical shields protecting the temple. But she has to overcome not only that, but also the Gem's power. A great deal of its energy is channelled into ensuring she can never locate or enter our temple."

"She is certain she's found a way."

"How?"

"I don't know. All I know is that it has something to do with the twins."

Billy shook his head, "The twins are safe. They're not even going to be Bearers. Tommy's seen to that."

"Billy, trust me. Take this threat seriously."

"I'll keep an eye on the twins. But I can't say anything to anyone else without raising suspicions. The only reason you're still alive is because no one wants to directly go against Tommy's orders."

Jason supposed that was better than nothing. He understood the importance of secrecy and knew his life depended on the Order thinking him perfectly ordinary again. But that often made it harder to deal with the nightmares. Snatches of thought and feelings were able to seep into his subconscious while he slept. Last night, he'd known she was thinking of the twins and feeling smug. Yet the people who most needed to know couldn't be told outright.

"She's planning something big," Jason said.

"I'll do what I can," Billy answered. Jason could at least be sure that Billy believed him. That had to be something.

"Good luck."

The two shook hands and then Billy vanished again. Jason stood alone in his apartment, still worrying. He'd hoped this would ease his concerns, but now they were worse than ever. If Tommy wasn't where he should be and he wasn't with the Order, where the heck was he? 


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Kat was trying not to seem worried. Sure, Tommy had been kidnapped by a crazed dinosaur thing out to destroy civilisation, but so what, it was nothing he hadn't handled before. She was doing her best to put on a brave face in front of the kids, but she wanted nothing more than to run down into the lab and find out if Hayley had heard anything in the thirty seconds since she'd last checked.

Her husband was in mortal danger and she was expected to sit at home and wait while a trio of teenagers went off to rescue him. She knew why it had to be this way; it just didn't make things any easier. There'd been a time when she'd been to one to go charging off to save him. Now the dutiful wife sat at home with the children.

She hadn't regretted leaving the Rangers. It had been the right thing to do. It had given her a chance to go further with her dancing and it had meant she'd been in the perfect place when Tommy had realised he was struggling to take care of the twins on his own. But now the Power had come back into their lives, it was such much harder to just do nothing.

Kat sat in the living room, watching the twins colouring pictures. Someone had to stay with them and make sure they were safe.

"Will Dad be coming home?" asked Trina.

"He's come through worse than this," Kat said. She couldn't bring herself to actually say 'yes.' Giving the twins justified hope was fine, but she wouldn't say something that might later turn out to be a lie.

"They've got out!"

Hayley had come running up from the lab, a delighted grin on her face as she exclaimed the news. Kat wanted to yell or cheer or something as she rushed to follow Hayley back down. The twins hurried with them. At some point, Kat would talk to them about how dangerous it was to run downstairs. Right now, Kat leapt the bottom four steps and raced across to the computer.

The big screen was showing footage from somewhere near the middle of town. Kat had never figured out quite how Hayley managed to translate satellite information into footage that looked as though someone was there with a video camera. She was just amazingly relieved as she saw Tommy, standing with the Rangers, facing down Mesagog's creeps.

Kat was half laughing, half crying as she hugged the twins.

"Woah!" said Will. Kat turned back to the computer screen. Where Tommy had been moments earlier, there now stood another Ranger.

"Our dad's a Power Ranger! Our dad's a Power Ranger!" the twins sang to each other, bouncing excitedly around the middle of the lab.

Kat just stared at the screen. He could never just walk away. Damn it, the man was addicted to being a hero! He had other responsibilities now. He was a father. He should be taking care of the children not rushing off to save the world. He shouldn't be off having wild, reckless adventures.

Not when she couldn't.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tommy hoped this wouldn't take long. Kat would murder him if he disappeared again so soon after being saved from Mesagog, but the other leaders of the Order were determined to finish the tests. Tommy was insisting they tested the French woman first, though they'd both passed the initial stages. Hunter had refused to hand over the scroll of destiny and the French woman wasn't yielding a minor piece of evidence from what had been thought to be a kidnapping case, only she now knew that the child had run away.

Tommy had been fairly confident Hunter would pass. Anyone who'd been a Ranger was likely to succeed, though Tommy remembered that Jason had tried to exchange the Dragonzord coin for Tommy's life when it had been his turn.

He stood in a small chamber off from the great hall and hoped that the woman would pass the final challenge. This life was a terrible thing to wish on anyone, but at this stage the only other option was death. If she succeeded today, hopefully they'd never need to bring Hunter here.

Tommy held his hands over a low table and concentrated on summoning the sword. It materialised immediately, but Tommy stayed as he was, reaching inside himself to find the power that the Gem of Orasella had given him. An identical sword appeared beside the first. More than identical, they were the same sword. Tommy had never quite understood it and Billy's explanations included too many phrases like "multi-dimensional projections" for him to follow. As far as he could work out, the sword was something that didn't quite fit into the normal universe, so it could be many places at the same time. There could be more than one sword Bearer, yet the sword each held was still the real thing.

Now, what sort of sword would a French police officer trust?

Tommy placed a hand on the hilt of one of the swords. He closed his eyes and focussed, feeling the shape shift beneath his fingers. When he opened his eyes, one of the swords was now a short knife. It was functional and sharp, but Tommy knew it wouldn't stand a chance against a sword. The fight would never last long enough without it becoming obvious he was going easy on her.

So Tommy lifted the other sword. This was easier. He barely had to think about it and then he held an identical copy of the Dragon Dagger. Secrecy was so crucial to the Order that even the sword would change its form to conceal itself. If Tommy summoned the sword outside of the temple, it would take on this shape. He could make it take on its true form, but it was easier not to. At least the battle would seem more fair now.

The sword was ready. All he needed was the fighter to hold it. 

He called the others together, a group of ninjas, including Trul. The man was the leader of fire and had a right to be in on the tests, no matter how much Tommy might despise him.

The group were ready. They knew where the French woman was. She was in a safe house, apparently alone but watched by a dozen cameras and with guards waiting in the next room. Billy could knock out the cameras from here. The rest of them would be in and out before the guards had a chance to react.

"Ready," Tommy said. The word echoed in his mind. He'd heard Connor say it many times now as the Rangers prepared to morph. They'd go off to save someone's life. Now Tommy was going to destroy someone's.

"The camera's are down," came Billy's voice.

Tommy nodded to Trul and then transmatted out with the others. They were standing in a small kitchen, the woman getting to her feet in such a hurry that she knocked over the stool she'd been sitting on. One of the Order grabbed her arm and then transmatted before she had a chance to react. So simple. Tommy transmatted away as well and then stood in the great hall of the temple.

It was a wide, circular room. Rows of seats rose up in tiers towards a domed glass ceiling that offered a view of the stars despite the light inside. The members of the Order who'd accompanied Tommy now stepped backwards to form a wide circle on the polished wood floor. At the centre of the circle were Tommy and the woman. There were four archways built equidistantly around the edge of the room, breaking up the first few rows of seating. In each arch was built a pair of heavy, wooden doors. Through one of these, walked one of the order, holding the sword in its knife disguise.

"Take it," Tommy said.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded. Good, she spoke English. Carlia had said she did, but Tommy was grateful to hear it for himself. He'd forgotten pretty much all of the French he'd learned in school.

"Take the knife or you will fight with no weapon."

The woman took it hesitantly and the ninja stepped back to take his place in the circle.

Tommy initiated combat, testing the woman's defences. She was pretty good, but clearly not used to fighting with a knife. She kept using moves that Tommy would associate with unarmed combat. He kept up the fight for a couple of minutes before starting to press her harder and bringing the Dragon Dagger into use more. She managed to block the dagger with her knife, but each time it was a much closer call.

She took a step away from Tommy, breathing heavily and clearly frightened.

Then the knife began to glow. Tommy smiled beneath his mask and eased out of fighting stance, waiting as the knife lengthened and became the Sword of Orasella. Tommy let the dagger in his hand do the same.

The woman frowned at the sword she now held, then looked up at Tommy.

"You were testing me?" she asked. She understood now. The sword offered her insights into the intentions of others and she knew what had been done to her and why. She was truly a sword Bearer. 


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen  
**  
Tommy hated this, but there were times when only the Gem could answer his questions. He placed a hand on its surface and let the visions wash over him.

He saw death. He saw bodies littering the ruins of a city that had been blasted into wreckage. He saw his own house on fire, one side of the building already collapsed. He saw a family gathering at a graveside. He saw corpses pilled into pits because there was no time to bury them all properly.

He saw Jason, tears on his face muttering, "You shouldn't have saved me." And he heard his own voice uttering the impossible as he murmured, "I know," in response.

He saw the great hall of the temple scorched and blackened, the seats smashed and cracks in the floor. He looked up and saw the glass dome shattering, sending glittering shards raining down on the temple's main room.

He saw Trina, a few years older but most definitely her and he heard his own voice asking, "How many sword Bearers are there?"

Trina answered sadly, "Three weeks ago, our time anyway, there were thirty seven."

Tommy snatched his hand away from the Gem. He'd seen enough. That was the answer he'd been looking for. Even with the French woman, Charlotte, as a sword Bearer, Tommy hadn't been able to shake the feeling that it was still reaching out, still hunting for someone to take it. Now the Gem had told him that it needed more Bearers.

He remembered what he'd been told when he'd first joined the Order; when a great challenge was coming, the sword would call many Bearers to face it. With all the Gem kept showing him, it was clear that whatever the future held, it would take a lot to defeat it.

"Let me guess, death, suffering and despair?"

Tommy looked round to see Carlia standing in the doorway to the Gem's sanctuary.

"It seems like it gets worse every time I look."

"Then stop looking."

"It's only a possible future," Tommy said. "There's got to be a way to prevent it." He clung desperately to that hope, but he wasn't sure he believed it anymore. The first few times he'd used the Gem, he'd seen hope in his future. But things had been getting steadily darker since then. More accurately, since he'd saved Jason.

He knew he could fight Mesagog. He could destroy all the youth-draining monkeys and video game minions that the dinosaur might send at him, but was it worth it? He went out there with the Rangers and fought any creatures that attacked Reefside, but it seemed somewhat pointless, when he looked into the Gem and saw so much destruction caused by an enemy too strong to fight.

"This time, I saw the great hall destroyed," Tommy said.

"The temple? That's impossible. She can't get in here."

"Well, someone will."

"Tommy, I know what you've seen. I've seen it to. The Gem showed me my entire world destroyed. But we can still fight her. That's why we're here. The Gem doesn't show us things without purpose. There must be a way."

There must be. Because he was damn sure he wasn't going to be standing with the twins watching Kat get buried.

"We should fetch Hunter," Tommy said. "He should be put through the final test."

Thirty seven sword Bearers. He'd better get started finding them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kat sat on a bench in the park and watched the twins on the climbing frame. She wondered if they were playing Rangers or pirates or if the climbing frame was currently an alien spaceship. They were having fun anyway.

It seemed incredible to Kat that they should be so cheerful. They were excited about their father becoming a Ranger again. Kat was terrified. Logically, she knew it was no worse than when they'd been teenagers, but logic had very little to do with matters of the heart. Every time she heard a report on the news of a monster sighting, she knew he'd be there fighting, and she was barely able to breathe until she knew the battle was won. She'd even instructed him to call her the instant a battle ended so she could know he was safe.

She watched the children playing and wished things could always be this way. She knew she worried too much about the future; it was in her nature. She wondered if they'd be able to make enough money to pay for the twins to go to college. She wondered what would happen someone tried to use the kids as leverage. And now she had to worry about Tommy getting squashed by some giant, mutant freak.

But for now, the twins were laughing together. Tommy was safe, catching up on his paperwork for the school. And the autumn air was warmly clinging to the last remnants of summer.

A man walked from a nearby group of trees, heading for the climbing frame. Kat didn't think much of it, except for idly thinking the man ought to be too big for this. Then Trina yelled her name.

Kat was on her feet and running in an instant. She wished she'd been sitting a little closer as she saw the man grab hold of Trina and lift her off the ground. Trina kicked the man between the legs.

The man let her go and Trina scrambled away. Then Kat was there, positioning herself between the little girl and her attacker. Now she got a closer look at this man, she saw why Trina had called for help even before he'd struck. His eyes were silver. They were shining orbs that Kat could see herself reflected in. And the face that held those eyes showed no sign of emotion.

"Stay back," Kat warned.

"Kat!" Will yelled. Kat glanced towards him and saw another man. This man was different in most respects, but his eyes gleamed the same as the first and his face showed no feelings as he walked purposefully towards Will.

Kat didn't hesitate to start fighting. The twins grouped together and Kat stayed beside them, hitting or kicking either of the men if they got to close. She traded a few blows with one, then realised that this was the plan. They were trying to draw her into a fight with one so the other could reach the twins.

The man grabbed at Will this time. Kat rushed to help him, but so did someone else. A dark figure appeared in mid air and kicked the attacker in the face. It was a ninja, with a blue sash across his chest. He followed up the first kick with several more, driving the other man back. The other of the silver-eyed attackers seemed to forget about the twins, and joined in the attack on the ninja.

The ninja looked directly at Kat.

"Run!"

Kat thought that there was something familiar about that voice, but she didn't have time to think about it. She grabbed each of the twins by the arm and they started running.

They made it a short distance away when another figure stepped out of some trees right in front of them. Trina yelped in surprise. Kat just stared. The silver eyes shone from a face she knew well.

"Adam?" 


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen **

"Adam, you're being controlled," Kat said as she blocked another punch. She was doing everything she could to keep Adam away from the twins, but at the same time she didn't want to hurt him. The silver eyes gleamed from a face that was devoid of any expression, devoid of Adam. This man attacking her children wasn't the real Adam.

But Kat had had enough evil inside her to know that her friend might still be in there somewhere.

"Adam, fight this," she said. But Adam just kept fighting her. All the skills and strength he'd ever had were channelled against her. Kat wished like crazy that she could morph.

"Kat!" Trina screamed. Kat turned and saw another figure, a woman with the same silver eyes and emotionless expression as Adam, holding the struggling girl. Will had picked up a stick and whacked the woman's leg with it. The stick broke without the woman even flinching.

Kat was about to help Trina, but she'd forgotten Adam in her concern. Adam kicked her in the back and she went sprawling. She looked up to see another ninja figure arriving, this one with a gold sash across his chest. He had a sword already drawn and he swung it, slicing through the neck of the woman. Trina screamed again as the decapitated head hit her on the shoulder and then rolled to the grass.

The ninja ran past Kat and Will towards Adam, the bloody sword raised again.

Then he hesitated.

For several seconds, he just stood there, staring at Adam.

Adam disappeared. It wasn't the abrupt departure of the ninja, or the bright light of teleportation. Adam just faded out. For a moment he was almost transparent, then he wasn't there at all.

The ninja turned to look at them. Kat was already on her feet and rushing to put herself between this man and the twins. Running feet approached and Kat saw the blue-sashed ninja arrive. He looked at the other one for what seemed like forever, then both ninjas vanished.

Kat spun round and threw her arms around the twins in a crushing embrace. Trina was shaking, sobbing into Kat's shoulder. Her shoulder were crimson with the woman's blood and Trina couldn't take her eyes from the gruesome sight of the head still lying in the grass.

"It's OK. They're gone now," Kat said.

Will's hands were fists around Kat's shirt. He looked almost as pale and shaky as Trina, but he managed to smile up at her and say, "You are like the coolest mum ever."

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"Tommy, are you alright?"

They'd returned to the council room. Tommy had yanked off his mask and sat down in the nearest chair, not caring that it wasn't his place. Now he just sat there, elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Do I bloody look alright?!"

Tommy was trying not to think about the way the twins had looked at him. They were the toughest seven year olds he could imagine, and yet they'd been staring at him in terror. And Kat had looked revolted. Of course she looked revolted. He'd just murdered someone with kids watching. If she worked out that it had been him, she'd hate him.

He had his eyes tightly shut, but still he saw the looks on their faces. They'd stared at him like he was a monster.

And Adam.

"How the hell did she get to Adam?" Tommy asked. "When?"

He couldn't remember when it was he'd last heard from Adam. It hurt that he couldn't even recall their last conversation or recollect the last email of news. Things had never been the same after Rocky's death, and then, when they'd all left Angel Grove, they'd just lost contact. The news and get-togethers had come less and less frequently. Until they were at a point when Tommy didn't even know his friend had been taken.

"Adam's one of her soldiers?" Billy asked. He sounded shocked. Of course he was shocked. He was supposed to be off on Aquitar, so he'd had even less communication with the old gang than Tommy had.

"How can I protect anyone," Tommy asked, "when I can't even protect my friends?"

"You protected the twins today. They're safe. We'll keep watch to make sure they stay safe. If you want to protect Adam, the next time you see him, you won't hesitate to kill him."

His duty. His destiny. Cutting the head off his friend.

He wanted to ask if there was another way, but he already knew the answer. He wondered about trying to save him. He wondered about trying to restore the old Adam, the way he had done with Jason. But he knew that would be a mistake. He remembered the snippet of conversation he'd heard in his vision. He'd heard himself admitting that he shouldn't have taken the risk of saving Jason. However inconceivable that seemed to him now, it was obvious that the Gem had shown him that to prevent him trying the same thing with Adam.

"I spoke to Jason earlier," Billy said, slipping into the seat beside Tommy. He wondered if this was idle conversation supposed to ease his feelings.

"He said he thinks she's found a way into the temple," Billy went on. No, this was the world dumping yet another problem on him.

"The temple's protections are specifically designed to stop her," Tommy muttered. The answer came automatically, but he didn't doubt the connection Jason had to their enemy.

"Jason is convinced that she's confident about this." There was a brief hesitation. "He thinks it's something to do with the twins."

Tommy looked up sharply at that. It wasn't enough that one side wanted them. He could almost handle the Order wanting them to join, but he couldn't cope with her being after them as well. It did explain this afternoon's attack though.

"If she is after them," Billy said cautiously, "maybe it would be best if they were to come here."

"No." Tommy answered. He didn't see the need to say anything else. If he gave reasons, Billy was certain to find arguments against them. So he just stuck with the absolute negative. There was no way he was bringing his children into this war when there was any other choice. And there was no way in hell he was going to separate them from Kat.

He thought of how she'd stepped in front of them, willing to defend them no matter the cost. If he brought the twins here, it would mean Kat would probably never see them again. He couldn't do that to any of them. The twins had already lost one mother.

"Then we keep watch," Billy said. "I won't bring it up with the council, but there are some I trust enough to ask to help."

Tommy saw that Billy was waiting for permission. Where it concerned the twins, Billy wouldn't say a single word to anyone, no matter how trusted, unless Tommy agreed. But Tommy knew that the two of them couldn't watch the twins every moment, not when Tommy had a city to protect as well as his duties to the Order. He nodded.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Any time." Billy stood, patting Tommy on the shoulder as he headed to the door. He turned at looked back, "Go to your family. They need you now."

Billy was right. As always. Tommy should go and make sure that Kat and twins were alright emotionally, not just physically. But still, it would be hard to put out of his mind the fear with which they had looked at him when he'd been masked.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

"I'm not disagreeing with you," Tommy said. "I just don't see that it's much help finding out who the White Ranger is."

"Anyone who's personality has suddenly changed might be a good suspect," Kat said. "Or anyone suddenly trying to get close to the Rangers." The two were in the kitchen, Tommy supposedly helping Kat make dinner while they discussed this mysterious new arrival.

"Not necessarily. When I became Green Ranger, I didn't want to hang out with the others. I just ignored them except when I was fighting them. The White Ranger doesn't have to be anyone we know. We can't just watch everyone in town in case their eyes start glowing."

Kat looked thoughtful. "Do you think those silver-eyed people have something to do with this?"

"I doubt it," Tommy answered, wishing he could tell her he was certain. "It's not Mesagog's style. Besides, this white guy is new and we haven't seen those attackers in weeks."

"I just wish we knew who they were. I wouldn't feel so helpless if I knew what was going on."

Kat had spent the past few weeks trying to find out something and trying to work out what had happened to Adam. No one else had realised anything was wrong, which eased Tommy's feelings of guilt a little. Adam had distanced himself from the Rangers ever since Rocky's death and none of them had been contacted when he'd vanished about six months earlier. The thing that was worrying Tommy was that, in all her investigations, Kat hadn't been able to contact Carlos either.

"Tommy, that was a hint."

"What?" Tommy was genuinely confused.

"Whenever I mention the ninjas or Adam, or the other people with silver eyes, you look away. You avoid my questions or try and change the subject. You know something you're not telling me."

After all they'd been through together, Tommy knew that if he could bring himself to look her in the eyes and lie, she'd believe him. But he also knew that, after all they'd been through together, he'd never be able to do that.

"I know something," Tommy answered.

"Then tell me!"

"I can't." Tommy did look away. He stared at the work surface and wished Kat would stop staring at him like he was the one in the wrong. She walked up to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him round slightly so that he faced her, but he still didn't actually look up to meet her gaze.

"When you asked me to marry you, I promised that I would raise those kids like they were my own. Now you expect me to stay in the dark when people are trying to hurt them. Don't I deserve to know what's going on?"

"Yes. You do deserve an answer. But I still can't give you one." Tommy forced himself to look up. "I love you, Kat. And I know the twins couldn't hope for a better mother. But if you knew what I know, you won't be any more able to protect them. You'd just be in more danger than you can imagine. Please, Kat, trust me."

"I do trust you, Tommy. But I'm not some damsel in distress. If the twins are in trouble, then I want to do something."

"I know. I understand. But there is no way I can ever tell you. I'm sorry."

He hugged her. She hugged him back, but he suspected it would take a lot more than this for her to forgive him.

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There was a knock on the door of Hunter' study. He looked up from his desk to see Leanne standing there. She was the daughter of the Thunder Academy's previous head teacher, a great ninja and, according to Blake, a brilliant teacher.

"Hi, Leanne, come in," Hunter said.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. "Your call was a little confusing."

Hunter paused. He'd been planning what to say at this moment, trying to work it all out so things wouldn't sound to suspicious. But, on the other hand, he didn't want to lie. If he made an excuse that was later found to be false, people would be more concerned than if he gave some impossibly vague reason for leaving.

"When your father asked me to take over the Academy, I was honoured and, to tell the truth, a little terrified. But I accepted and I've done my best to run the school properly."

"Everyone says you've done a great job," Leanne said.

"But," Hunter continued, "lately I've been feeling like something's wrong. It feels like this isn't where I'm meant to be, like there's something else I should be doing."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But I want to find out."

"Well, my father always says that a ninja should follow his or her instincts."

"On the other hand, I don't want to just leave the school. I'm responsible for the Academy and that means it's my responsibility to make sure there's someone capable in charge."

Realisation dawned on Leanne's face. "You can't mean me."

"I trust my brother when he says how good you are as a teacher. And your father told me when he offered me this job was that what mattered most was caring about the school. I can't think of anyone who cares more than you do."

"I... um... I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," Hunter said. She had to accept it. If she didn't, Hunter wasn't sure who else to ask. If he started making enquiries Sensei Amino or Blake were bound to find out. They'd want to know why. It was better if Hunter just found a replacement and disappeared. He'd go to the temple and live with the Order. He'd been thinking about things a lot since they'd put him through the final test and he'd claimed the sword.

He couldn't do what Tommy did. He couldn't handle a double life, hiding a part of who he now was. He could feel the connection to the sword. Worse, he could feel the weight of the secret buried deep inside him. He and Blake had never hidden anything from each other. Now he had something he didn't dare if hint at without risking losing Blake to the enemy. He couldn't stay here and pretend that everything was normal.

He'd leave the school. He'd leave his brother. He'd leave his friends. And all that was waiting in exchange for everything he loved was a war that could never, ever be won. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

How was it her phone always got to the most inaccessible point of her bag? Kat frantically dug through her belongings as she rummaged for the ringing phone. Across the other side of the room, her class were running through the basic exercises. At last, she pulled it out, and read Hayley's name on the screen.

Kat's first thought was one of absolute terror. With all the attacks by the White Ranger lately, Kat didn't want to think about why Hayley might be calling.

"Hello?" Kat said.

"Kat," Hayley said. "First off, Tommy's still alive."

The fact that she had to say that first implied that whatever was going to come next was still going to be bad. Kat's mind conjured up images of Tommy lying bleeding in a hospital bed, or locked in a cell somewhere.

"He ran into the White Ranger," Hayley went on, "and we think he found out who he is. But then the White Ranger... fossilised him."

"Fossilised?"

"He's trapped in an amber-like substance. He's definitely still alive, but I can't figure out how to get him out. I'm working on it though. I will do everything I can to fix this."

Kat supposed that was something. Hayley was almost as good as Billy with these sorts of technical things. If she was working on a way to get Tommy out, she'd find it. She had to.

Because Kat didn't dare think about what might happen if she couldn't. She couldn't bear to consider the possibility of Tommy being frozen forever. If she lost him, she didn't know what she'd do. They'd been through so much together. He'd saved her life, given her a purpose and then he'd given her his children. He had to get better.

"Mrs Oliver?" One of the mums who sometimes watched the children's class had come over, noticing something was wrong. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," Kat realised she was crying and wiped her eyes. "My husband's had an accident." She saw that the kids had stopped dancing now and they too were watching her. Kat had always been calm and rational, no matter what evil she'd faced. These people were all looking at her, and Kat didn't know what they expected. She didn't know what to say or do. She couldn't just make this better.

"I'm sorry." Kat fled from the room. There were a few parents there. It wasn't like she was just leaving the kids on their own.

She had to get home. She had to get to her kids.

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"Tommy is not dead," said Billy, wanting to lean across the council table, grab Trul and shake some sense into him.

"He's right," said Carlia. "The sword Bearer's seat at the council has always belonged to the Bearer who's been a part of the Order the longest. No one has ever been replaced."

"No Bearer has ever been frozen alive before," said Trul. Billy truly despised this man. They'd realised something was wrong with Tommy less than half an hour ago, and Trul was already trying to get Tommy removed from the council.

"The council should be five," said Mindre. He was the leader of earth, a stoic man aged in his early fifties. He'd been on the council longer than any of the others, but he spoke rarely. Usually, his only input into their meetings was to cast his vote.

"The Rangers are working on freeing Tommy," Billy said.

"But that could take months, maybe even years," said Trul. "He can't be on the council when he's stuck in a block of amber."

"A temporary stand-in, perhaps?" suggested Carlia. "When Tommy is freed, he can have his place back but, until then, Charlotte can act for him." Mindre nodded his agreement.

"That's acceptable," said Trul. He seemed too confident about the choice for Billy's liking. Maybe he just thought that Tommy never would come back. 

Everyone looked at Billy, though he knew it didn't matter. Three votes had already been cast in favour.

"Charlotte will step down the instant Tommy is freed," Billy said. And the thing was done. They summoned Charlotte and told her the news. She looked both flattered and terrified as she took the seat that should have been Tommy's.

"There is another important piece of business," said Trul, "the twins."

"We've already agreed," said Billy, "that we'll leave them until they're older."

"But that was before the enemy's soldiers attacked them. If she is interested in them, they ought to be brought here, where it's safe."

"We can watch them, but they're protected well enough by their family."

"Perhaps under normal circumstances," said Trul. "But Tommy can't protect them now and none of the others know about the Order or our enemy."

"What are you suggesting?" Billy tried to keep the anger out of his voice and failed, "That we bring them here? That we kidnap them?"

"For their own safety. We're not certain why the enemy is interested in them, so we should take no chances."

"The enemy didn't start going after the twins until we had. It's quite likely that the enemy is only interested in them because she thinks we are. We could be putting them in more danger."

"How? We would be bringing them to a place we are certain they would be safe."

"And their mother?" Billy asked.

"As I understand it, their mother is dead."

"A technicality! Katherine has raised them and protected them. We can't just take the twins away from her."

"If the enemy gets to them, she will lose them anyway," said Trul.

"Tommy would never allow this."

"Tommy didn't want the twins here when he thought he could protect them himself. Now he can't. I think he would want them to live and be safe. I vote we bring the twins here."

"I vote the same," said Charlotte. Trul gave her a smile and Billy wondered how much they'd discussed this before hand. He'd brought her here because he knew she'd vote in his favour.

"I vote no," said Billy. "And you know damn well that Tommy would agree with me."

There was a short silence. The council turned to Mindre.

"The Order has never taken a child from a mother," said Mindre. "I vote no." From the looks of things, Trul was as surprised as Billy. Billy allowed himself a slightly smug smile at the look of shock and worry on Trul's face. Then he saw the expression on Carlia's.

"The twins need to be safe," she said, she looked at Billy, almost apologetically. "This isn't a bad life." And Billy remembered that she'd come here as a child, her home destroyed by the enemy. She'd never had a choice and she'd been happy here.

"They'll still have their father," she said, almost pleading with Billy to understand.

Billy stood and walked from the room.

He couldn't remember ever feeling so angry in his life. He'd expected Carlia to understand. She'd always supported Tommy, she'd always been his friend. She knew how he felt about the twins.

And still she turned on him.

Billy wanted to run and warn Kat. The Order would be coming for her children and she should know to fight.

But he couldn't.

When he'd joined the Order, he'd sworn an oath to obey the laws, and that meant abiding by the decisions of the council. He himself had agreed to let Charlotte onto the council. He couldn't just change his mind because he didn't like her vote. He'd been a friend long before he'd joined the Order and he felt a traitor to that friendship now, knowing that the others were planning how to steal away Tommy and Kat's kids. He couldn't do anything to stop it.

Oaths wouldn't be necessary if they were easy to keep.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Kat was trying to keep the twins occupied. They were playing board games in the living room, while downstairs, Hayley ran through a million and one possible ways to restore Tommy. It took all her self-control to keep from running down and checking every five seconds in case Hayley had found something. Instead, she sat up here and played stupid games.

She had to stay strong. The twins needed her now more than ever. They needed to see her and believe that their dad was going to be alright. So Kat gave them reassuring smiles and tried with all her might to look cheerful, to look as though there was nothing she was concerned about.

She didn't think they bought it.

There came a knock at the door and Kat left the twins arguing over who got to play using the boot in Monopoly. She could hear them bickering as she answered the door. The guy standing outside looked to be in his late teens. He wore a shirt in a dark enough red to be considered crimson and Kat tried to work out why he looked familiar.

"Are you Kat?" he asked.

"Yes. Who are you?"

"Stay with the twins at all times. Get the Rangers to help you, but make sure there's always someone with them who can fight. Until Tommy's defossilised, they're in great danger. If you leave them alone, even for a moment, you'll probably never see them again."

Kat wanted to run back into the living room and throw her arms around the twins, but she could still hear them arguing and there were so many other questions rushing through her mind.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We have a mutual friend," the guy said, "and he doesn't want you to lose your kids."

"But how do you know about Tommy?"

"I wish I could tell you more. I'm sorry. Just protect those kids."

And then he turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Kat called. She took half a step out of the house but then her heart froze as she heard the sound of a crash from the direction of the living room. She ran back, dreading what might await her.

The relief almost drowned her as she saw Will standing next to what had once been a very nice vase.

"It's her fault," Will said.

"Was not."

Kat started laughing. That vase had been a wedding present from her mother, but right now she didn't care. For a moment, she'd been so scared she could barely breathe, but the twins were still here, still safe.

Tommy was trapped inside a rock and Kat had no way to free him. Now, some stranger had warned her of danger to the twins. Kat wasn't really surprised they were in danger, not with all that had happened since they'd moved to Reefside, but it was worse to hear someone confirm it. And what did he mean, a mutual friend? No one else outside of the Rangers and Hayley knew what had happened to Tommy. So how did that guy? Was he somehow connected to the White Ranger?

"I heard a noise," Hayley said, rushing into the room. She must have heard the breaking vase from her place in the lab.

"It's nothing to worry about," said Kat. She knew it was, but she wouldn't admit to that in front of the twins. They were scared enough.

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Kat sat in the lab. She was still worrying about the twins, even though she knew Kira, Ethan and Connor were babysitting. They'd taken the kids to the Cybercafe, so Kat could be sure Hayley was also keeping an eye on them.

Kat was worn out. She'd spent the last two days with the twins almost constantly. She hadn't even dared go to sleep unless someone was with them. She'd pulled the kids out of school, giving some story about a contagious infection. She stayed with them every moment of the day and had the Rangers watch them in the evenings so that Kat could have a nap. Now it was Saturday. The teenagers had picked up the twins early and Kat had spent the morning in bed recovering.

But she knew this couldn't work for long.

She'd called Jason and asked him to go round. He'd be arriving later that day and would be able to help taking shifts guarding the twins, but Kat still wanted more.

So she was down in the lab, going through Tommy's files on the Ranger history. He'd kept track of most of the former Rangers so he could contact them if ever there was need for another big team-up. Kat was getting numbers for some of the old gang. She was sure they'd want to help protect Kim's kids.

She stared at the screen. It had been running through the video diary in a part of the screen while she ran through the database of contacts. She paused the video and wound it back a few frames.

That was him.

Hunter. He was the one who'd warned her the kids were in danger.

That explained why Kat had recognised him, but it didn't explain anything else. Kat found the contact number listed for Hunter as the Thunder Ninja Academy and she typed it into her phone. There was something weird about the concept of a ninja school having a telephone connection, but she wasn't going to complain.

"Leanne Amino," came a woman's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello, I'd like to speak to Hunter Bradley," Kat said politely.

"I'm sorry, he doesn't work here anymore. He stopped working here very recently."

"Oh. Do you have a contact number?"

"Sorry. You could try contacting his brother. Do you have his number?"

Kat quickly checked the database and confirmed that it was the same as the woman would have offered her. Kat thanked her politely and then hung up. Kat wanted to hit something, but instead she dialled in the number for Blake.

The phone rang for quite a while. Kat was about to give up when the answer came, "Blake Bradley."

"Hi, I'm trying to get in touch with your brother, Hunter. I tried to Thunder Academy and they suggested calling you."

"Why? Isn't he at the school?"

"No. The lady I spoke to said he stopped working there."

"That's not possible," said Blake. "He wouldn't leave the school. He wouldn't make a decision like that without telling me."

It seemed that, rather than answers, Kat had just found some more questions. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"Hi, are you Kat Oliver?" Blake asked, standing somewhat awkwardly on the doorstep.

"That's right," Kat said, standing aside to let him in. She took him through to the living room, where the twins were getting on with the work they should have been doing in school. Jason was helping them with math, though Kat had some doubts as to how much help was actually occurring. Still, she was too glad about Jason being here to help out to complain about his distracting the kids from their education. Kira had been supposed to help baby-sit as well, but she'd made excuses about being in dire need of a manicure.

Kat sat down with Blake at the opposite side of the room to the twins and they began to talk in hushed tones. They would have been able to talk more freely if they'd gone somewhere else but, even with Jason around, Kat didn't want to leave the twins for long.

"I called the school," Blake said. "You're right. Hunter left. But he didn't tell me or Sensei Amino or anyone. He didn't tell me where he was going and that's really not like him."

"You think he might have been forced to leave?"

"I don't know. He arranged for someone to take his place, which suggests he planned this. In that case, he had plenty of opportunity to tell me and chose not to."

Kat could hear the mixture of emotions in Blake's voice. He was scared for his brother, but also deeply hurt that he hadn't been trusted enough to learn more of whatever this plan was.

"The people at the school," Blake went on, "said that Hunter had been attacked a couple of times by people in ninja uniforms that weren't associated with any of the academies. The attacks stopped about a week before Hunter left."

Kat thought of the ninjas she'd seen and knew there could be no doubt they were connected. But she was also wondering about the other group that had targeted Tommy seven years ago. They'd never really understand who those people were or why they'd attacked. If they'd figured something more out back then, maybe they'd know what was the problem now.

"Did Hunter say anything to you?" Blake asked.

"Not much," Kat replied. She lowered her voice even further so that the words were barely audible. "He just warned me the twins were in danger. And he said we had a mutual friend."

"To do with the Rangers?"

"I don't know." It was possible. After all, Hunter had known about Tommy being fossilised. That was another question nagging at Kat. Hunter had seemed to think the danger would pass when Tommy was back to normal. Did he just think that Tommy would be better at protecting the twins; or was there more to it than that? Kat hated the ignorance.

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"If we wait until the twins are alone, we could be waiting for days, maybe longer," said Trul. "The more time the twins are away from here, the more danger they're in."

The council were gathered again. They'd spent the last few days carefully watching the Oliver household, observing as Kat watched over the twins, or asked the Rangers to do it. Billy had seen Jason arrive and been confident that the kids were now as safe as they could be, considering the state their father was in.

"Maybe not," said Billy. "We can't get them alone, so the enemy won't be able to either. I think they're protected enough where they are." Billy didn't know why Kat and the others were suddenly with the twins every moment, but he could guess. He wouldn't ask Hunter outright, because he wasn't obligated to tell anyone about a mere suspicion. Actual proof was another matter.

"We're cautious because of secrecy. The enemy would maintain that secrecy by killing anyone around. Delaying just puts the others in danger as well."

"I think the real reason you don't want to delay," said Billy, "is the fact that Hayley is working on a way to free Tommy even now. You want to do this before he returns to challenge your decision."

"I'm thinking of the best interests of the children," Trul said. No one said anything, but the silence very pointedly stated that Trul wasn't believed.

"The vote was taken," said Trul. "We are going to bring those children here and we're going now. I have already put together my team." Trul was the leader of fire and as such in charge of the warriors of the order. While everyone here learned how to fight, some were better at it than others. Trul's position on the council was to lead the fighters in battle against the enemy, or in any other combat deemed necessary.

"I want to come with you." Billy looked round to see Hunter standing in the doorway.

"I have my team ready," Trul said. "You might get in the way. We shouldn't take that chance."

"The way I see it," said Hunter, "you have no way to actually stop me."

Trul looked like he was considering hitting Hunter as a possible option, but then he nodded his assent.

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"Three doesn't go into twenty eight."

"Yes it does! There's just one left over."

"But then it doesn't go. You're stupid."

"No, you're stupid."

"You're stupider."

"You're stupidest."

"That's not even a real word."

"Yes it is."

"Find it in a dictionary then."

"Uncle Jase, it is a real word, right?"

Jason buried his face in his hands with a groan. He loved the twins to pieces, but there were occasions when pieces would seem to be the best way of dealing with them. He enjoyed short visits, but spending every moment in their company was rather hard to take. It seemed that the danger of death and the fact that their father was a lump of rock paled in comparison to the fact that one of them might have made a mistake in math.

Jason looked across at Kat and Blake for some aid, but Kat was too busy chuckling at his plight to come to his rescue.

A moment later, and the argument was no longer important.

A group of the Order materialised in the room. One wore a red sash, another gold. Jason knew that this guy couldn't be Tommy, which left some rather worrying doubts about whether or not Tommy would be saved from his current situation. Jason didn't dare think of that now though. He scrambled to his feet from where he'd been sitting on the floor.

He dealt a spinning kick at the nearest of the ninjas and then pulled the twins back, away from these newcomers. Blake and Kat were also on their feet. The three of them formed a line between the group of half a dozen ninja and the two kids.

Jason knew enough about the Order to be confident that the kids wouldn't be hurt, but he also knew how serious Tommy was about keeping the twins out of this war. Jason didn't plan on letting him down now.

The ninjas looked ready to put up a hell of a fight, though Jason noticed the guy with the gold sash looked slightly hesitant.

A scream.

Jason turned. They'd been so distracted by the Order that they hadn't been paying attention to the twins behind them. Now Jason saw the silver-eyed soldiers of the enemy. One of them held Will and was rapidly fading.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Hunter saw the enemy arrive, but wasn't quite quick enough. One of them had appeared immediately behind the boy, grabbing him and vanishing again in the same movement. Hunter ran forward.

Kat had dealt a kick to one of the silver-eyed men who was trying to take hold of the struggling girl. The Order were already fighting the enemy. Those who'd been watching the twins fought just about anyone. Hunter saw his brother in the fight but didn't dare think about what that could mean. At least not yet. He just summoned the sword, surprised how easily the weapon came him this time. In front of him, one of the enemy was again trying to grab hold of the girl.

'He's already dead,' Hunter though over and over. 'He's already dead. He's already dead.' And he swung the sword round, severing the man's head from him body. He didn't look. He didn't think about what he'd done. He could do that later. Right now, he had more important things to do. Besides, vomiting was a really bad idea when he had a mask covering his mouth.

As the man's body crumpled to the ground, Hunter grabbed the girl's arms and pulled her clear.

She struggled against him just as she'd fought against the enemy's soldier. But Hunter held her in a firm grip. He ducked a punch aimed by another of the enemy, but he didn't let go of the girl.

He knew what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to just transmat away and take her to the temple. But he'd seen the fear in Kat's eyes when he'd mentioned the twins being in danger. There was no way that taking this child from her home could be the right thing to do. Not when two of the council and their own father thought it was a mistake.

"Stop!" A voice cut across the fight and Hunter's dilemma was pushed from his mind by something far worse.

He saw one of the enemy holding Blake. One arm held both of Blake's pinned behind him, the other held a knife to Blake's throat. Hunter had been told how strong the enemy's soldiers were, and now he saw his brother failing to pull away from this man. The enemy smiled slightly, staring at Hunter with eyes that gleamed silver and had no trace of a soul behind them.

"Where do your loyalties lie?" the enemy asked.

"Let him go!" Hunter yelled without thinking. He saw confused recognition flicker across Blake's face.

"Give us the girl," the man continued. "She means nothing to you."

"Take her," Trul commanded. "One life is nothing compared to the cause." Trul took half a step towards Hunter, but a thin line of crimson appeared along the edge of the knife and Blake gasped in pain. One life might be an acceptable sacrifice, but the Order weren't trained to just let someone die. So even Trul hesitated. No doubt he'd be willing to take the girl to the temple, even if it cost Blake his life. For now though, he waited, hoping for a plan to present itself to one of them.

Hunter just clung to the child, wishing it could be so simple. Of course saving one life while risking the destruction of the universe was a foolish thing to do, but logic had little power over love. He couldn't just hand this girl over to the enemy. Whether she was key to some plot or just another victim, she was still an innocent and didn't deserve what would be done to her. But he couldn't just stand here and watch his brother die.

Everyone stood waiting. No one dared breathe as they watched Hunter to see what choice he would make.

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Jason fought the enemy's soldiers. He left the Order alone and they didn't bother with him. He'd fight them if he had to, to keep Trina here, but he'd rather the Order took her than their enemy.

He didn't let himself think about the fact that they'd already got Will. He didn't consider what might already be being done to him. The thought of what had happened to him still gave him nightmares, even when his mind wasn't linked to hers. He couldn't bear the thought of the same thing happening to the twins.

So he fought. Saving even one of them from that fate would be something.

"Stop!" The voice caused the entire room to pause mid-blow. Jason saw Adam standing there, a knife at Blake's throat. Kat had mentioned seeing Adam, but Jason hadn't wanted to believe it. Now he knew without a doubt that she'd got to him somehow. She'd destroyed the man they'd known.

"Where do your loyalties lie?" Adam asked Hunter. Jason wasn't quite sure why this was happening, at least not in this way. The enemy didn't make threats, didn't take hostages. And why be interested in the twins at all? They didn't have any special knowledge and they were far too young for her to be after their fighting skills.

"Let him go!" Hunter yelled.

"Give us the girl. She means nothing to you."

Jason saw Hunter's grip tighten slightly, but he was still staring at Blake. But he also saw the pain in Hunter's eyes as love was turned into a fierce weapon.

"Take her!" ordered the man with the red sash. "One life is nothing compared to the cause."

Clearly Hunter didn't think so. Maybe this was what the enemy wanted; the Order against the sword Bearer. Tommy would do anything for his kids; Hunter would do anything for his brother. The enemy was very successfully causing dissention. Maybe this was how she hoped to destroy the Order.

A figure appeared from nowhere, a weapon firing almost before anyone was aware of this new arrival. He was in ninja black, but with a blue sash across his chest. A dark bolt shot from his weapon, tearing through Blake's shoulder and imbedding itself into the figure behind.

Adam staggered back slightly. Blake pulled free, finishing the movement with a harsh kick that sent Adam sprawling. Then Blake collapsed to his knees, clutching at a shoulder that was rapidly spewing blood. Adam and the other enemy faded away.

Before Jason could even think of reacting, the man with the red sash had taken Trina from Hunter and vanished with her. Hunter just stared in shock at Blake, but the blue-sashed man placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're one of us now." Jason recognised it as Billy's voice.

Hunter gave Blake one last, long look, then he vanished along with the rest of the Order.

Finally collecting his surprise enough to react, Jason rushed to Blake. Whatever had been loaded into Billy's weapon had cut a hole right through Blake's shoulder. It was narrow, but it must have severed an artery judging by the amount of blood flowing from it.

"Hunter?" Blake murmured before passing out.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Jason said, grabbing a cushion from the sofa and pressing it firmly against the front of Blake's shoulder. He bunched up Blake's t-shirt to try and stem the flow of blood from the back.

"He's losing way too much blood," Jason said. "Call an ambulance. Kat. Kat!"

But Kat was just standing motionless, staring blindly into space. Tears flowed down her face but she didn't hear a word Jason was saying to her. She just kept standing there.

She'd lost the twins.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Blake lay alone in the hospital room. It seemed that Hayley might have found a way to restore Tommy and Jason had wanted to be with her to help her explain what had happened. Jason hadn't looked to pleased about that prospect, but at least he was doing better than Kat. She'd taken this pretty hard. Though, Blake mused, there wasn't really any other way to take a situation like this.

Blake shifted slightly in the bed and winced at the pain in his shoulder. Apparently whatever had gone through him had been well clear of his lungs or anything else that would cause serious damage. It was just bad luck that it had nicked his artery. The guy who'd shot him hadn't wanted him dead, he'd just not had a clean shot at the man holding him hostage.

He was really glad he didn't have to explain this to anyone. It appeared that Jason had summoned the current Red Ranger to take him to hospital on the raptor cycle and the hospital staff all thought he'd been hurt in a monster attack. It was an almost worrying thought that the Rangers could probably get away with quite a lot if they tried.

The TV in the room was broken, so Blake had nothing to do but lie there and wonder what the hell was going on. He was absolutely certain the guy wearing the gold sash had been Hunter. But it didn't make sense. Why would Hunter warn Kat and then try to kidnap the kids? More to the point, what the hell was he doing with those guys in the first place?

He dismissed the initial thought of brainwashing, because of the way Hunter had reacted to Blake being taken hostage. Besides, he'd found a replacement at the school. This wasn't some spur of the moment thing.

There was a cautious tapping on the door.

Maybe he could actually get some answers, Blake thought, seeing Hunter walk in. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, a bunch of grapes in one hand and a sheepish expression on his face.

"Hi," Hunter said.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Blake demanded. "You take off from the school without a word to me. You deliver cryptic warnings to Kat about there being danger to her kids and then turn out to be part of that danger. You kidnapped a little girl!"

"I'm sorry," Hunter said. "I didn't tell you about leaving the school because you'd want to know why and I didn't want to lie to you."

"Then tell me the truth."

"I can't." Hunter stared at the floor. "I'm part of something that demands absolute secrecy. I can't tell you anything."

They'd never had secrets from each other. They'd always been a pair. Now Hunter stood there, so close but separated by a wall of secrets Blake couldn't penetrate.

"Where's the girl?"

"Catrina's safe. No one's going to hurt her. The people I'm with decided to take her because they thought they could keep her safer than she would be at home, especially with Tommy... out of action."

"And the other kid? Will?"

"By now, he'll be dead." But there was a slight hesitation before Hunter said that. Either there was more to this that Hunter would admit, or he wasn't completely certain. Blake clung to that, because he didn't want to believe that Hunter would be involved with anyone who would kill a child.

"Hunter, who are these people?"

"I wish I could tell you."

"Hunter, you know you can trust me with anything." Blake pushed himself up into a sitting position, regretting it as he put weight on his left arm without thinking, sending fresh waves of agony through his shoulder.

"He's sorry," Hunter said, noticing Blake's expression, "for shooting you. He just needed to get the enemy to let go."

"The enemy?" Blake asked. "What is this, some kind of war?"

"This is why I left, Blake. This is a huge part of my life now and will continue to be so. I chose to leave because it was easier not to speak to you again than to spend the rest of my life hiding this. I can't lead a double life, hiding something like this from people I love. I don't know how... other people manage it."

"If you don't want to hide things from me, tell me what's going on."

"I can't. If you know anything about this, you'll be in more danger than you can possibly imagine." Now that was the guy Blake knew, always wanting to protect his little brother, whether that little brother wanted protecting or not.

Hunter turned to leave but Blake called after him, "So, you're just going to disappear?"

"That's the plan. You'll probably see me again. Someday."

The Hunter had left the room. Blake scrambled from the bed and rushed for the door, not willing to let him go so easily. But the corridor outside was empty. Hunter had just vanished.

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Jason stood nervously as Hayley loaded what appeared to be a lump of rock into one of her machines. Kat was standing next to the machine, fiddling like crazy. Jason wondered what was going on in her head. Was she trying to find a way to break the news gently? Or was she still too busy panicking about the twins' safety to even think.

Jason wished he was allowed to go to the temple. Trina must be so terrified. She knew no one and was probably scared they were going to do something horrible to her.

"Activating," said Hayley, flipping switches on the machine. Stuff started buzzing and a purple light shot out of something that looked a bit like a satellite dish. The light sparked around the lump of amber. Jason found himself holding his breath.

The amber started to melt away and Jason began breathing again. Then sparks shot from the machine and the thing went dead.

But there was Tommy, standing in the middle of the lab and taking a step towards Kat.

"Dr O!" said Connor.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Ethan.

"Good job, guys," said Tommy. "Power down!" The was a moment of silence in which nothing happened. "I said: Power down!" Again, nothing. "I think we might have a problem."

"There's another problem," said Kat. "The twins."

"What about them?" Jason could hear the fear in Tommy's voice. Kat opened her mouth but then shut it again, not finding the words to say what was needed. Tears filled her eyes again.

"What happened?" Tommy asked, perhaps a little too harshly. He was obviously panicking about the kids' safety and that fear was over-ruling the tact that would have normally let him see how upset Kat was. Right now though, her tears were probably just making him more scared.

"The ninjas got Trina," Jason supplied, "but Adam and some others with silver eyes got Will." He knew Tommy would understand all that that implied. One child safe but trapped forever in the temple and the life of the Order; the other worse than dead.

"I'm so sorry," Kat sobbed. "I tried to stop them. I tried."

"I know, it's OK." Tommy stepped up to her and put a hand on each shoulder. "It'll be OK. We'll find some way to get them back."

Jason could understand Tommy wanting to comfort Kat, but he wasn't sure this was the way to go about it. He shouldn't make promises he couldn't keep. He might be able to get Trina home somehow, but there was no chance of saving Will.

Unless...

Cold terror seeped through Jason's soul at the memory. Tommy had saved him once, despite everyone telling him how dangerous it was, how it would never possibly be successful. Tommy had freed him, but it had nearly destroyed everything. The Gem almost certainly wouldn't survive a second attempt.

Surely Tommy wasn't stupid enough to try it again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Even though his armour and mask completely concealed his features, it was obvious to everyone that Tommy was furious. Billy hoped that his arrival in full Ranger mode was not a sign that he was going to attack all those here.

Tommy grabbed hold of Trul before he had a chance to react. He shoved Trul against the council table, pushing him so that he was bending painfully backwards. Tommy loomed inches away from Trul's face.

"Where is she?" Tommy demanded.

"The children's quarters," Trul said.

Carlia stepped forward, placing a hand on Tommy's chest. She didn't try to push him away, but presumably she hoped this would encourage him to let go of Trul. Instead, Tommy just turned to her. Billy could easily imagine the glare that was hidden beneath that helmet.

"We thought she'd be safer here," Carlia said. "And if the enemy has your son, I'd say we were right."

"You had no right to take her away from her home," Tommy said.

"If we hadn't been there, the enemy probably would have both the twins."

Tommy let go of Trul, shoving him back so he was almost lying on the table.

"I'm taking her home," Tommy said.

"She's seen the inside of the temple," Trul said. Clearly he had no sense of self-preservation. "We can't let her go now. We should test her with the sword."

"No."

"I'm not suggesting we kill her if she fails, but I saw her holding it through the Gem. She ought to try."

"No. I'm taking her home to her mother. She can have the amnesia drug if you insist, but she will not be staying here."

"Because that worked so well with Jason and Adam," muttered Trul. Tommy punched him. There was no warning, though his previous anger might have been seen as warning enough. Tommy just punched Trul in the face. Billy guessed that Adam wasn't someone best mentioned to Tommy right now.

"You will not have my children. I am taking Trina home and you're not going to come after her ever again. They are not part of this war."

"The enemy has made them a part of it," Carlia said. "Whether she remembers or not, she's in more danger now than she was before."

"And if the enemy hurts her now, I will hold each of you responsible." Tommy turned to the door.

"Tommy," Billy began. He wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to apologise. He wanted to try and say that this wasn't his fault. He wanted to know that Tommy didn't hate or blame him for what had happened.

Tommy glanced at him and then continued walking from the room.

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Trina sat on the small bed. She'd been given a little room, furnished simply but with no books or toys or anything to keep her occupied. The only things in the cupboard were black, ninja clothes and there was no way she'd wear those. She'd checked the door ages ago and of course it was locked.

So Trina sat on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest and crying. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know if Kat knew. She didn't know where her brother was or what was happening to him. The man with the blue sash, the one who'd tried to be nice to her, said that her brother was probably dead. At least he hadn't lied about it.

She wanted her dad so badly that it hurt. But he was trapped in a lump of rock. Even Kat hadn't been sure Hayley would rescue him. So how could he come rescue her?

Trina wished she were braver. She wished she were stronger. She wished she were a Ranger so that she could fight these people so she could find her way home and maybe rescue her brother.

Where was he? She argued with him constantly and spent most of the time hating his guts, but he was always there. She wanted him to be here with her, insulting her, fighting with her, just being him. She didn't want him to be dead. Not like Mum.

She didn't want to only see him as a gravestone, visiting once a year with a bunch of flowers.

She needed Will. She didn't know how to be without him there.

The door opened.

She looked up through tear-blurred eyes to see that Black Ranger standing in the doorway. For a long moment, she thought she must be imagining this.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said and she knew her Dad's voice. Trina rushed across and threw her arms around him. He crouched slightly, hugging her back. Trina buried her head in his chest, still crying. "It's OK. You're safe. I'm going to take you home."

"Will?" Trina asked.

"I don't know. If there's a way to bring him home, I'll find it. I promise."

That was enough.

"Sweetheart, I need you to do something. I'm going to bring you a drink. It'll make you forget everything you've seen here and then I'll be allowed to take you home."

Suspicion rose in Trina's mind. She pulled away. Why wasn't he her dad? Why was he in Ranger form? Only a little while ago, her dad had been a lump of rock. How could he be here now?

"You can't trick me," she said.

"Trick you?"

"If you were really my dad, you wouldn't be in armour. You're a double or something. You're not going to get me to drink anything."

"It's me, Trina. The fossilisation got me stuck somehow. Hayley's working on fixing it."

Trina shook her head. "No! I don't believe you."

"I'm me, sweetheart."

But Trina had seen too much weirdness to believe him.

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Jason left the house, holding the keys to Tommy's car. Blake had called saying that the doctor's had finished whatever tests they felt necessary and now he was ready to be checked out. Jason had decided to fetch him because Kat was in no fit state to drive, despite Tommy promising he'd find some way to bring Trina home.

Jason noted that Tommy hadn't made any promises about Will.

"Jase, I need your help."

Jason nearly jumped out of his skin. Tommy had appeared beside him without warning.

"Anything," Jason said, when his heart rate returned to normal levels.

"I need you to come to the temple and convince Trina to drink the amnesia drug. She doesn't believe I'm me because I can't demorph."

Jason hesitated.

"I thought I was forbidden from ever entering the temple again, no matter the circumstances."

"It'll be for two minutes and you're not going to see anything you haven't already seen. Please, Jase. I don't know how long it will take to convince Trina otherwise and I need to get her home."

Jason still hesitated. This couldn't be a good idea. He had only the vaguest knowledge of the temple and he was happy to leave it at that. But then again, this was Tommy's daughter and the longer they waited, the less likely the drug was to work completely.

"OK," Jason said, "just this once."

After all, she hadn't been inside his head since Tommy had saved him. What harm could this do?  



	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Kat stood in the twins' bedroom. She wasn't sure why she'd come in here, but now she was sat on Trina's bed, holding a mangled teddy bear to her chest. She wasn't crying, but her thoughts were going round in an endless loop of guilt and grief. What if she never the kids again? What if they were hurt? What if they were dead?

She was supposed to be their mother. She was supposed to protect them. But now they were gone and she didn't even know where.

She stared round the room at crumpled clothes, discarded school books and toys strewn aside at the end of the game. Everything looked like they were going to be back at any moment. Will would be lying on his bed, working his way through a pile of comics. Trina would be sitting at the desk, dutifully doing the work Will was ignoring. Or they would both be sitting on the floor, the Power Rangers action figures waging war on whatever monster they could create out of the room's mess.

Sitting there in silence, Kat heard echoes of so many old games. She remembered bedtime stories and trips out. She remembered birthday parties and school plays. She didn't want to consider that those were all gone, but she could consider nothing else.

She stood, thinking that keeping herself busy might help lift her from this pit of despair. She took the teddy to the chest where, theoretically, the kids stored their toys. She cleared up the action figures. She piled up the school books in size order. She made a pile of empty glasses that she would take down to the kitchen later. She collected the comics that littered the room and even organised them chronologically. She went through the closets and drawers, neatening outfits and folding clothes that had previously been just shoved in anywhere. She made the beds and then decided to tackle the horrors that lay beneath them.

Kat hadn't been able to get a vacuum cleaner under the beds since they'd moved here. The kids considered this space to be a storage for anything that didn't fit on the rest of the floor. They'd only been here a few months, but the underneath of the beds were already a graveyard for lost and broken toys.

The thought that maybe things would be tidier from now on crept into her head. She banished it. Keeping occupied was supposed to stop her thinking about the fact the twins might not be returning, but it probably didn't help that she'd chosen to work in the one place where absolutely everything was bound to remind her of them.

She lay on her stomach, pulling out the mess. She noticed something unexpected amongst the toys and lost t-shirts. A tape recorder. Since when had the kids had a tape recorder?

Somewhat curious, she pressed the play button.

"Have you told Kat?" Jason's voice came from the machine.

"What can I tell her?" replied Tommy's voice. "'Honey, I have a suspicion I might die soon but I can't tell you why.'"

"Kat's no stranger to weirdness. She'd believe you."

Kat shut off the tape, staring at it. Tommy had known something dangerous was about to happen, but he'd chosen not to tell her. She'd already suspected he knew something he wasn't telling her, but he'd stayed silent. And now the twins were gone. Kat hadn't been able to protect them because she didn't know what she was facing. Tommy did know something and he'd refused to say what. And now she'd lost the kids.

"Kat!" Tommy's voice called up the stairs.

Well, she'd get some answers now.

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Tommy held Trina gently. It was easy to forget how much extra strength his Ranger form gave him, so he clung to Trina as though she was made of glass. She slept in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder.

He carried her through the tunnel entrance and into the lab. He laid her down with exquisite care on the medical bed. She didn't even stir.

Tommy headed for the stairs and called up to Kat, then he went back to Trina, brushing hair out of her eyes as she slept through the effects of the drug. In a few hours, she'd wake up and remember nothing that had happened since the attack at the house.

"You found her!" Kat was at the bottom of the stairs, staring in disbelief at the little girl on the bed.

She ran across the lab, a grin nearly splitting her face in two. She gently shook Trina by the shoulder.

"Trina. Trina, you're home now. You're safe." Trina didn't stir.

"Let her sleep," Tommy said.

"Why won't she wake up?" Kat asked, shaking slightly more vigorously. Tommy avoided her eyes. He didn't know how to answer that without just worrying her more. She wouldn't understand if he tried to explain that he'd allowed Trina to be drugged and her memories erased.

"Who are these ninjas?" Kat asked.

Tommy continued looking away. If he lied and said he didn't know, he was certain she wouldn't believe him. He wondered if there was anything he could possibly say that would make her understand and trust him.

"Why won't you tell me?" Kat demanded, her voice rising to a near shout. "You don't tell me even when our kids are in danger. But you'll casually discuss things with Jason!" She held up a tape recorder that Tommy hadn't noticed and she pressed play. Tommy heard himself discussing the sword and the Bearers with Jason.

"How?" Tommy asked, genuinely puzzled.

"It was in the twins' bedroom."

Was that it? Was that why the enemy was after them? Did she think they'd overheard something that could lead her to the Order? Cold dread flowed through Tommy and he wondered if his carelessness at allowing himself to be overheard was the reason that his son was now gone.

"You are supposed to love me!" Kat said. "You are supposed to trust me! But you'll hide things from me that you can tell Jason. Why trust him and not me?" There were tears in her eyes. Tommy cursed this Ranger armour that kept him from just running over there and hugging her and hoping that his actions would somehow convey the trust he couldn't express in words.

"I do love you, Kat. I do trust you. But this secret is too dangerous. Anyone who knows it is immediately in danger. Jason found out and it nearly cost him his life." Tommy wished he could tell her the rest, about how a war for the future of the universe had nearly been lost, simply because Tommy had insisted on saving his friend. He wished he could explain that there were worse things than death and that the enemy was capable of the worst of them.

"But what about the twins? How can I protect them when I don't even know who I'm fighting?" Tommy didn't know how to answer that either.

"If you won't trust me," Kat went on, "I don't see how I can be with you. And if you are willing to endanger your children's lives because of a secret, then maybe I should take Trina with me."

Tommy just stared. His mind was reeling, unable to comprehend the enormity of this threat. Kat wanted to leave him. He'd always thought that their marriage was as perfect as any relationship was likely to get. But now she was standing there, in all honesty suggesting that they end things. He had to stop her. He had to convince her to stay. He had to find some way to win her back.

But his thoughts kept looping on one word. Leave. She wanted to leave him.

"If you try and take Catrina from Tommy," said a new voice, "you'll probably never see her again."

Tommy turned to see Billy standing in the lab, wearing the Order's uniform and his face concealed by the mask. Tommy hoped desperately that Billy had a better plan than his, which basically involved him falling to his knees and begging Kat to stay.

Kat just stared at Billy, a puzzled expression on her face. 


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Kat had been thinking a lot lately about the first time she'd encountered these ninjas. Or at least, the first time they'd encountered a group of ninjas who looked and acted a lot like these guys. She remembered Jason and Adam, sleeping. The team hadn't been able to wake them up, but they'd woken on their own hours later, with no memories of where they'd been or what had happened. Kat saw Trina lying on the medical bed in the lab and wondered if the same thing was happening to her; if her mind was being altered and her recent memories wiped.

She remembered Billy and Tommy appearing and giving a somewhat vague story about how they'd escaped. At the time, she'd been so relieved to see him again that she hadn't minded not knowing for sure what had happened to him with the ninjas. Jason had minded though. He'd tried to convince them that there was something wrong, believing that maybe Tommy had been brainwashed or something. He'd been determined to find out what had really happened.

Then the letter had come from Florida.

They'd learned that Kim was dead and that Tommy was now the sole guardian of two babies. The ninjas had been pushed out of all of their minds by the combined tragedy and blessing.

And the ninjas had never returned. Kat had been content to leave things as they were.

But not now. History seemed to be repeating itself and she wasn't just going to accept vague stories and secrets this time. She had to do something. She had to say something to convince Tommy how serious she was about this.

"If you won't trust me," she said, "I don't see how I can be with you. And if you are willing to endanger your children's lives because of a secret, then maybe I should take Trina with me."

The silence that followed her statement was nearly deafening. Kat wished Tommy could demorph because without any sign of his features, she had no way to know how he was taking this news. After five years of marriage, she'd hoped it would be enough, but he wasn't saying anything. He wasn't offering her the truth she so desperately needed to hear.

"If you try and take Catrina from Tommy," said a voice behind her, "you'll probably never see her again."

Kat turned and saw one of the ninjas standing there. He wore a blue sash across his chest and Kat wondered if this was the same person who'd shot Blake and Adam. He made no threatening move, but his words were enough and Kat stood ready to fight.

"Who are you?" Kat demanded.

"We're not your enemy. Those we fight have targeted your children. We are uncertain as to the motivation and so were unable to predict their moves accurately. Some of us thought that we could protect the twins better than you. Tommy has convinced us that he can defend Catrina and so we agreed to return her to his care. But the decision was only in his favour by one vote. If you take her from him, I cannot guarantee that the vote will stay to your liking."

"I can protect her," Kat said. She hated the implication that she couldn't, even though her own doubts were overflowing with what had happened to Will.

"You were an exemplary Ranger," the ninja said, "but our war is not like any you have known."

There were footsteps down the stairs and Kat glanced round to see Jason and Blake arriving. Blake went instantly into combat stance, despite the bandages around his arm and shoulder. Jason put a hand out to stop him.

"Wait," Jason advised.

"He shot me!" Blake said.

"I was unable to get an unimpeded shot at Adam. The weapon I devised will do no more harm to an ordinary human than a crossbow bolt, but it is significantly more painful to our enemies."

There was something in the voice that was familiar. Maybe she'd just been thinking of Billy recently because of how he'd helped when Tommy was taken by the ninjas, but this man's pattern of speech reminded her of him. And he'd called Adam by name. It was a strange thing to notice, given that he knew Trina's name as well and he was likely to learn the name of someone he'd been fighting, but still she noticed it. She stared, taking in the blue sash he wore.

"Billy?"

He hesitated, then nodded. "I joined the Order seven years ago. We're not evil. We do what we must to combat an enemy worse than anything the Rangers have ever had to deal with."

Kat turned to Tommy and Jason.

"You knew? You're involved in this too?"

"I joined when Billy did," Tommy said. "But we were sworn to absolute secrecy. Keeping the secret is more important than anything."

"More important than your family?" Kat demanded.

Tommy whispered the unthinkable.

"Yes."  



	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

"When we were Rangers," said Kat, "we would never hurt people. We wouldn't risk a single life, even to protect the Earth."

"Think about King Mondo," Tommy said. "Imagine, the worst-case scenario. Imagine he'd completely obliterated us, killed Zordon and there was no one left to stop him taking over Earth, what would have happened?"

"He would have turned everyone on the planet into slaves, set himself up as a tyrant and gone on to rule other planets that didn't have Rangers to protect them."

"But not every planet. It's a big universe. There would be some, galaxies away, who it would take so long for the news to reach that King Mondo would be rusted away to nothing before anyone from those worlds found out. They would continue to live free, happy lives, no matter the consequences of our fight. Besides, tyrants can be overthrown; slaves can rebel. No matter how terrible the consequences of loss, there would still be a chance for future goodness." Kat didn't answer. She looked as though she was thinking about what Tommy was saying.

So Tommy continued, "Even if we lose to Mesagog, on a universal scale it wouldn't really matter. Sure, it would be terrible for the six billion or so people here, but Triforia would be fine. Aquitar wouldn't have any problems. Mirinoi probably wouldn't notice for months. And there would be thousands upon thousands of planets who would probably never even know." Tommy paused, letting his words sink in.

"The enemy the Order fights," he went on, "is far worse than anything the Rangers have faced. She wouldn't just take over one planet or even one galaxy. She would take over everything. Every single living soul in the multiverse would suffer a fate worse than death. They would become like Adam is now and there would be no hope of anyone changing things, anyone resisting her, anyone putting things right. If she wins, she'll have the universe for the rest of time."

Tommy hoped Kat understood. It wasn't lightly that he described everything else as unimportant next to this fight.

"What has happened to Adam?" Kat asked at last.

"She's consumed his soul," Billy answered.

"Can he be saved?"

Billy shook his head. "Those who are taken by her are consumed. For most the process is complete in a few hours, for those of exceptionally strong will it can last as long as a day. However, once that time is past, all that was once a part of that person's essence is gone without trace and can never be restored."

"What about Will?" Kat asked. Her voice trembled slightly. Tommy didn't answer. He didn't want to admit to something so terrible. As long as he said nothing, he could still pretend to himself and to Kat that there was hope.

But Billy said, "I'm sorry, Kat."

"No. Will's a tough kid. He's strong. He'll fight this."

"I'm sorry. Only one person has ever had his soul restored once he had begun to be taken by the enemy. He was exceptionally strong-willed and had had experience at resisting evil spells. One of the Order was able to save him within the first hour of the process, but even that consumed most of our power and nearly destroyed our only weapon and defence against the enemy."

"But if we could find Will..." Kat began, a mother's hope too strong to listen to these negative words.

"It wouldn't work," Billy said. "Even if there is a trace of Will left, which after this time is unlikely to the point of impossibility, to restore his soul from such a trace would take more energy than we are capable of producing and would no doubt lead to the enemy discovering our location and destroying us. With us out of the way, there would be nothing to prevent her from completing her domination of the universe."

"There has to be something," Kat said.

"I believe she is hoping we will try. Any endeavour to recover Will would prove futile and lead to the Order's demise. I think she is hoping that you, knowing it has been achieved once, will attempt something similar. I'm sorry. That cannot happen."

There came a banging sound from near the stairs. Tommy looked across. Jason had thumped the wall. Hard. Now he walked up the stairs without a word. Tommy wonder how much guilt Jase was feeling, that he was safe but that Will wasn't. The Gem had saved one soul but wasn't strong enough to save a second. If Tommy hadn't risked everything to save Jason, seven years ago, maybe there'd be enough strength in the Gem to save Will now.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

Time had passed. Days had crept by, the house seeming strangely empty no matter how long Tommy spent there. Most of his time, he remained in the lab, not wanting anyone to see a Ranger wandering around inside the house. Trina had woken up as she was supposed to, her memories of the temple completely gone.

The story of illness continued and Trina remained at home, doing her schoolwork in a corner of the lab or playing on the video game system Tommy had persuaded Hayley to attach to the main computer. She was being really quiet. She didn't speak unless asked a direct question. Even then, half the time she would just look blank or shrug, not really having heard what was being said.

She missed her brother.

Tommy had never been close to his brother so he couldn't really understand how it must feel for her to be without Will. The twins had always been inseparable, no matter how often they argued. Hayley had once commented that they sometimes seemed like two parts of one being. Tommy remembered that so often now, seeing Trina appear only half alive.

Maybe if she were able to get back to some semblance of normality, she would be able to adjust. But Tommy and Kat didn't dare let her out of their sight. The enemy was probably still after her. So Trina was trapped here in a strange state of limbo, her life unable to continue. So she remained, constantly reminded of the reason for her imprisonment and feeling more deeply the loss of her brother.

After the first couple of days, when neither the Order nor Hayley had been able to find any trace of the enemy's soldiers or Will, Tommy had gradually begun to accept that the change would now be complete. Even if she had waited, which had never been known to happen, even if Will had fought her more strongly than Jason or any of her other victims, the process would be complete by now. His soul would be consumed by the enemy.

Tommy cried tears behind his helmet and was unable to wipe them away.

He hugged Trina often, needing to know that she was really here, safe within his reach. But he wished for the feel of his skin on hers. All he could feel was the inside of his gloves.

He was almost grateful when Mesagog or Trent attacked. He felt completely useless in the lab, doing all sorts of tedious tasks that he'd been putting off for ages, but unable to do anything to help his family. It felt good to be able to fight something solid. Every time, he imagined it was the Order's enemy he was hitting. Though, when Kira was controlled, a part of him had been terrified that the enemy had somehow got to her. Even when she was safe again, he worried about what would happen if the Rangers somehow fell to the enemy's powers. Would she do that?

Maybe if he knew more about her plans, he'd be able to guess who was still in danger. The only theory they had about her targeting Will was based on the idea that she expected him to try and save him. But if he was completely gone, there was no possible power that could restore him. He'd expected Will to reappear soon after he'd been taken, but there'd been no sign of him.

"Hey, bro," said Jason, coming down the stairs. He had a steaming mug in his hand. Tommy stared at the coffee enviously. The morphing grid might be able to sustain him like this, but that didn't stop him missing things. On the other hand, he hadn't had to go to the bathroom in over a week.

Jason had stayed with them. Tommy wasn't sure what excuses he'd had to make to get time off work, but he was grateful for it. Blake had gone back to his racing, but left about a dozen different ways to get in touch in case they heard anything from Hunter.

Tommy had only had one real conversation with Hunter since all this, but even that was stretching the definition. Hunter claimed to be perfectly fine and point blank refused to talk about how things had ended with his brother. He was a Bearer now and was determined to do that duty, even if that meant being separated from Blake. Tommy almost wanted to grab him and shake him, screaming at him that this pain wasn't necessary. He saw what Trina was going through and he didn't want to have to face Hunter inflicting the same hurt on himself.

"How are you doing?" Jason asked quietly.

Tommy didn't have a simple answer for that. Kat was barely speaking to him. She was still hurt about his apparent betrayal and Tommy wasn't sure how to close the distance that had formed between them. She was hurting so badly over losing Will and she wouldn't let Tommy in to help her through the pain.

The pain that Tommy also felt.

Everywhere he looked, he saw signs of Will. Memories clung to everything in this home. He wished for his son back so much that the feeling became a physical ache. There was a black hole inside him, swallowing up any thought of hope. He knew Will was gone and every spare thought was filled with guilt, conjuring scenarios of how he could have prevented this.

Tommy looked across at Trina, sitting on the floor in the corner, colouring pictures in silence. He was losing her too.

"I wish I could make this not have happened," Tommy muttered.

"I know," Jason said. He touched Tommy's shoulder in a way that was probably meant to be comforting, but Tommy only felt the harsh armour. That which protected him also served to hold him apart from those he loved most. That was true of far too much in his life.

Jason went over to Trina and complimented her pictures. Tommy went back to sorting through old boxes of junk. So many bits of useless paperwork were mixed in with treasured photographs. He found a picture of his wedding, Kat beaming so much that her smile outshone the sun. On either side of the happy couple were Jason and Trini, each clutching one of the twins. Tommy remembered how long that photo had taken to get, because Will had kept insisting on trying to eat Trini's hat.

"Tommy, look at this," Jason said, coming back over to him. He placed in front of Tommy one of Trina's pictures. It had a girl and boy in the centre of the paper. Tommy knew Trina's drawing style well enough to guess that they were supposed to be Trina and Will.

They were holding hands, but she'd drawn Will with silver eyes.

However, that wasn't what got Tommy's attention. Each of the twins held, in their free hand, a sword. Over their joined hands, glittering in gold pen, was a gem.  



	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

"Do you really think we can trust Trent?" Kat asked. Talking about Ranger business was somehow easier than discussing what was on all their minds. Tommy sat at the kitchen table, Trina beside him with a book, while Kat prepared dinner for those in the house who had accessible mouths.

"He was good before he found the White Gem," Tommy said, "and he seems sincere."

"Yes, but he has pretended to be turned good before. I'm not saying we should refuse to let him work with us, but do you really think it was a good idea to show him the lab? You guys didn't show me the Command Centre until you needed to rescue me from Rita and Zedd."

Tommy noticed that Kat appeared to be counting herself as one of the team, but didn't say anything about it. It must be tough on her to have to sit on the sidelines while the rest of them battled monsters. Too much had been hard on her recently. He wasn't prepared to strike her another mental blow and suggest that she wasn't really involved in the Rangers.

"I'm going to keep my eye on him, but he saved my life. That's enough for me to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"He did also nearly kill you. I'm just saying that we should wait and make sure that whatever spell he was under really is broken this time."

The was a faint chuckle from the doorway. "You two," Jason stressed the words, "are discussing whether or not to trust a formerly evil Ranger?"

"I'm not denying that he's probably a decent guy really," said Kat. "I just think we shouldn't rush to the assumption that he's good again."

Tommy knew Kat was probably right, but he remember how it had felt like for him. He'd been utterly terrified that no one would ever trust him again, that everyone would believe he was evil for the rest of time. He'd been filled with the guilt and shame of everything he'd done, and it had meant more than words could express that Jason had shaken his hand, that Zordon had agreed to him continuing as a Ranger. If Trent really was good again, he was probably going through much the same inner turmoil. It might even be worse for him, since he'd been evil longer than Tommy had. Tommy just wanted to show the kid that things would be alright. He wanted to show that trust was possible, because he remembered how much he'd needed to know that himself.

"Maybe," said Kat, "if he could explain more about how he got free of the spell, I'd be more inclined to believe him."

"How did you get free?" Tommy asked. Kat couldn't answer that and they both knew it. If she'd managed to fight herself out of the spell, then so could another.

Kat went back to stirring her soup.

"Tommy!" Jason snapped, at the same moment that Tommy noticed something in his peripheral vision.

He jumped to his feet, the chair clattering to the floor. There, where there had been empty floor only moments ago, stood Will. His eyes shone pure silver and all of Tommy's fears were confirmed in that moment.

"Trina," Will said, "come with me."

Jason and Kat both positioned themselves between the children. Tommy stood behind Trina, a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head mutely.

"Please," Will continued, holding out his hand. "Come with me and we can be part of something wonderful. Please, you're my sister."

Trina shook her head again, "You're not my brother."

"Of course I am." But it was more than just his eyes that belied his words. His stance and his tone of voice were completely different.

"You're not my brother," Trina said, shifting backwards slightly so she was pressed right up against Tommy.

"Dad," a voice whispered. But it wasn't Will's voice.

Jason turned to Tommy, a faint, silver sheen nearly concealing his eyes.

"Help me, Dad. I'm scared. She keeps whispering to me. I can't make her be quiet. Help me."

Tommy's mind refused to create any thoughts to deal with this. He couldn't believe this was happening and didn't know how to cope with it. Jason stood in front of him, the shifting light across his eyes showing another mind behind them.

"Fools!" said Will, or at least, Will's body. "You cannot win against me. Your Order will fall and you will be destroyed."

Then Will faded away.

Kat collapsed against the table, shaking and crying. Tommy clung to Trina more tightly, staring at Jason. The silver had gone completely from his eyes now and he clutched at his head.

"Will's still in there," Jason said.

"What?" Tommy breathed, hardly daring to believe it.

"I don't know how, but there's a part of him that she's not able to erase."

And that hurt almost more than believing his son was lost forever. Because this meant there was still a faint hope that the Gem would save him. She must have left just enough to offer him this choice. While Will was still alive, even slightly, she knew he would want more than anything to get him back.

And that meant that Tommy would be as good as a murderer when he refused to try. 


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

"If Will is still in there somewhere," said Kat, "then we can save him."

"Not without destroying the entire universe," said Tommy.

"If you can't use your weapon, find something else."

"There is nothing else!" The words came out in a choked yell. Tommy hated this. His son was out there somewhere, still alive and experiencing all that was being done to him, but Tommy was forced to live with the absolute certainty that he could do nothing.

Kat didn't understand. Of course Kat didn't understand. Tommy hadn't understood when they'd told him the same thing about Jason. He quickly banished the thought that they'd been wrong about Jason.

Tommy walked to Kat and placed a hand on her shoulder. It was supposed to be comforting, but it just succeeded in making her jump. She couldn't see him. Tommy needed so much to be close to his family right now, but it seemed that the power was conspiring against him. He'd finally got out of his morphed form only to be stuck invisible.

"Will is gone," Tommy said. "There is only one thing in the universe that might have been powerful enough to restore him and that will die if we try. It won't save Will and it will just doom everyone else."

"There has to be something," Kat sobbed.

Tommy hugged her, aware of how weird she must look right now. "There's nothing." His own voice shook with tears.

It was strange that it had been easier to explain things to Trina. She'd just sort of nodded when Tommy had said that the boy who looked like her brother wasn't really him. She still talked about Will as though he were alive and just gone away, but she knew that the boy who'd come to the kitchen wasn't him.

The enemy wanted Trina.

He wondered why they were still after her. They had Will as a weapon against him. They didn't need Trina. Unless it was just another taste of the enemy's cruelty.

Tommy wondered if he'd been wrong to take in the twins. Maybe he should have told Mrs Hart the truth, that they couldn't possibly be his. He didn't know why Kim had lied, why she'd let her mother believe that Tommy was the father, but he did know that he hadn't had any obligation to take them in. Yet he had done. Despite the difficulties of being a single father only just out of high school, he'd gone along with the lie and accepted the twins as his children.

And now the enemy was after them.

He should have refused. They would have grown up with their grandmother and they would be safe.

"Trina hasn't been outside in days," Kat said, in a surprising change of subject that snapped Tommy from his thoughts.

"I'm not sure it's safe," Tommy said.

"These guys can get inside our house. She's no more in danger outside than in here. She needs some fresh air."

Tommy nodded. Then he realised how stupid that gesture was.

"OK," he said, then went to tell Jason and Trina that they were going for a walk.

It was a pleasant day for a stroll in the woods, but Tommy kept glancing around, expecting enemies to leap out of the trees. Kat and Jason each held one of Trina's hands, keeping her close.

"He's coming," whispered Trina.

In that moment, there was a sound of movement. Tommy turned to see Adam standing between the trees. He summoned the sword, feeling the shape of it as it took on the dragon dagger disguise, despite Tommy's invisibility cloaking it.

Tommy ran at Adam, bringing the blade round in the killing stroke. Adam dodged. He blocked the next of Tommy's attacks. Somehow, despite his hyperactive powers, Adam was able to see what Tommy was doing.

Adam brought out a knife of his own. The blade flashed in the sunlight and then Adam jabbed it into Tommy's wrist.

Tommy gave a cry, the dagger dropping from suddenly useless fingers. Blood splattered on the earth.

Jason must have worked out what was going on, because he charged at Adam, accidentally knocking Tommy sideways as he did so. Jason drove Adam back, keeping him away from the dagger.

There were more of the enemy's soldiers around. Like Adam, they all seemed able to see Tommy. They surrounded him, fighting him, keeping him from the sword.

Kat caught one of them with a vicious blow to the head and Tommy was able to pull.

"Tommy!" Jason yelled, frantic. "Get her out of here!"

Tommy saw Trina. She'd picked up the dagger and now a faint glow was flowing over the blade. Tommy had heard the urgency of Jason's tone and grabbed hold of Trina, transmatting to the temple. Jason and Kat could take care of themselves, he thought hopefully, as his arms wrapped around the little girl.

They arrived in the great hall, the dagger Trina held already straightening, taking on its true form in the hands of its new Bearer.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

Jason felt a sudden burst of happiness that didn't belong to him. He turned from the man he was fighting and saw Trina. She was holding the sword in her hands and it was glowing, beginning the change that would bestow its powers upon her.

Jason understood.

He felt the enemy's delight and all the pieces slotted into place. He knew things he hadn't known a moment ago and the knowledge terrified him.

"Tommy! Get her out of here!"

Jason couldn't see Tommy, but he saw Trina vanish and knew what must have happened. Then Jason had the problem of dealing with all the enemy soldiers that no longer had Tommy occupying them. He could see Kat was struggling too, but as Jason was fighting about half a dozen guys at once, he couldn't do much to help her.

The enemy had sent soldiers who were trained in martial arts. Jason would have been able to handle a couple, but not this many. And they didn't get tired.

Jason found himself facing Adam and it was hard not to see his friend in that face. It was hard not to hold back.

A blow caught him on the back of his head. Jason hit the ground, his thoughts knocked from his mind briefly. In those moments, strong hands grabbed him and held him. He was on his knees, the enemy soldiers around him, keeping him trapped. Adam had a knife out. It was already coated in blood that Jason guessed to be Tommy's.

Kat was shoved to the ground beside Jason. They were unarmed and outnumbered.

Jason desperately hoped that some of the Order would turn up and help out. But the enemy wasn't like those the Rangers fought. She wouldn't keep them alive to gloat.

"You'll never get to tell him what you know," said Adam, confidently. "You'll never get to warn him and he'll give us what we want."

Jason reached for Kat's hand and squeezed it, hoping that she would get some comfort from the fact there was a friend beside her. Small comfort though it was. Jason had faced danger so many times, but nothing had prepared him with this cold certainty that he was about to die.

It couldn't end like this. He prayed to anyone who might here. He had to warn Tommy.

Adam brought the knife down in a swift stroke.

There was a flash of gold light.

Was he dead?

He wasn't quite sure what he'd expected, but he hadn't thought he'd be kneeling on a wooden floor.

"Where the hell are we?" asked Kat.

"Kat! Uncle Jase!"

Jason laughed as Kat was tackled by Trina. Right now, he was so relieved he would have laughed at anything. Just to be breathing seemed the greatest pleasure in the world. This must be the temple. He looked around at the huge, circular hall and saw a group of people nearby, all wearing the Order's black uniforms.

They'd rescued him. He'd been hoping for back-up, but he hadn't dreamt they'd bring him here.

"How did you do that?" came Tommy's voice from what appeared to be an empty space.

Jason frowned, puzzled. "You mean that wasn't you?" He scrambled to his feet, all the urgency returning. This was just the most temporary of reprieves.

"Tommy, I need to talk to you in private," Jason said to where he thought Tommy was standing.

"Whatever it is, you can say it in front of me," said Kat.

"I'm sorry, Kat. I can't."

"There's an anti-chamber this way," said Tommy. "We can talk there."

"Invisible."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. It's to your right."

Jason went through the archway to his right, walking between the tiers of seats. The members of the Order watched him go, but didn't try to stop him. The archway led to a tiny room with a couple of tables and chairs, but nothing more interesting.

"Tommy?" Jason queried.

"I'm here."

"You're not the twins' father."

"It doesn't matter."

For a brief moment, the importance of Jason's warning was shocked out of him mind by Tommy's statement.

"You knew?"

"Kim and I never slept together. I don't know what reason she had for telling her mum that I was the dad, but she must have had one. When Mrs Hart told me what had happened, I couldn't bear to tell her the truth. She'd just lost her daughter; I couldn't tell her that Kim had spent the last months of her life lying to her. So I went along with it. And now the twins are mine and it doesn't matter that someone else was the one providing half their DNA."

"It does matter," said Jason, "if that person was a soldier of the enemy."  



	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

Tommy stood, listening with a sense of horror as Jason revealed what he had somehow learned. Tommy wanted to deny everything, but he could hear the certainty in Jason's voice.

"The enemy captured Kim and implanted her with the twins. Then she let her go."

"Kim would have said something," Tommy said, still not wanting to believe. But he remembered the letter. It had been such a simple note; a request for a meeting. Kim had wanted to talk to him. He'd been angry at her assumption. He hadn't been ready to forgive her for the first letter, so he'd thrown this one away. A month later, Mrs Hart had arrived in Angel Grove, bearing the twins and the bad news.

"I doubt Kim even remembered what happened," Jason continued, "She probably thought it was drug rape or something. But the enemy knew Kim was dying and knew that you would care about her kids. She probably couldn't have been sure you'd raise them as your own, but she knew you'd want to protect them."

"She's been planning this for seven years."

"Probably longer," agreed Jason.

Tommy's feet didn't feel like they'd support him. He sank to the ground, leaning against the wall. He hugged his legs to his chest, wishing he were holding the twins there. It seemed nothing in his life was under his control. So many powers collided and fought over his destiny and he got swept along without any choice. Even the choices he thought he made. Even taking Kim's children as his own had been a decision made for him by another.

"She... designed the twins. They're not normal, Tommy. They're connected somehow."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked, his voice shaking with so many suppressed and conflicted emotions.

"Their minds are linked. I don't know how exactly, but a part of Trina is in Will and vice versa. And now we're in exactly the situation the enemy wanted."

"But Trina's still safe," Tommy said.

"That's what she wanted. She knew somehow that the twins would be potential sword Bearers. Then, the moment the Order started being interested in them, she made her move, trying to capture one of them."

"She was after both of them," Tommy pointed out.

"No. She just wanted you to think that. Once she had one twin, she expected you to bring the other here to protect them. If Trul had had his way, that's what would have happened. Once here, the twin would be bound to touch the sword and become a Bearer."

Tommy thought of Trina. Despite everything he'd done, despite all his attempts to protect her from this world, she'd picked up the copy of the dragon dagger and it had taken a new form in her hands. It had claimed her and now nothing could be done to reverse that.

"Trina and Will are joined together. If Trina steps outside the protection of the temple, even for a moment, the connection will let Will tap into the power of the sword." He didn't have to say what that would mean. The sword was their weapon against the enemy. The Gem might guard the temple and shield their minds, but it was the sword that could actually strike back against her soldiers. If she got that, it would cancel out its powers. They would no longer be able to kill those who worked for her.

"She's got to stay here," murmured Tommy. Jason nodded. "She's a seven year old girl. She's frightened and she'd just gained the ability to transmat herself to anywhere in the universe. How the hell am I supposed to keep her in the temple?"

"I don't know bro, but if you don't..."

"I know, I know. It'll be the end of everything good in the universe."

Tommy stared at the floor in front of him, filled with a despair he couldn't quite cope with. Everything was snatched away from him, no matter how hard he tried to hold on to it. He couldn't lose Trina as well. Not after losing Will.

A thought slipped in through the cracks in his misery. He looked up at Jason.

"Why leave a part of Will intact?" Tommy asked. "It made sense when we thought she expected me to try and free him. But why leave a part of him alive if she wants him to use the sword for her?"

"Maybe she still hopes you'll use the Gem. Maybe it was so we didn't guess the real purpose. Maybe it wasn't even deliberate."

"How could it not be deliberate?"

"Will and Trina are joined together. Maybe a part of Will is still free because she's still free. She needs the link in order to tap into the sword's power, but that might still be preserving the last piece of Will's soul."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty Three**

Tommy made his way back to the great hall. Billy and Trul were there now and already in a serious argument. Kat was looking confused, which was hardly surprising, and clinging tightly to Trina. The little girl still held the sword in her hand, though it had now taken on a new form. Tommy had had a quick chance to look at the shape it took for her. It was a short knife, with a deer engraved into the blade just below the handle: a hart.

The girl still looked terrified, even with the knowledge the sword would have offered to her.

"That energy signature is not a frequency match of any teleportation technology developed by any Ranger team," Billy was saying.

"However he did it, he still broke the conditions we gave him," Trul responded. He seemed to notice Jason had returned and looked at him with a harsh glare. "You shouldn't be here."

"Then I guess you guys shouldn't have brought me," Jason said. "Not that I'm not grateful for you saving me life."

"We didn't bring you, Jason," Billy said. "You did."

There was a brief silence. Tommy could almost read Jason's thoughts on his face as he took in what Billy meant.

"But, I didn't have a teleporter or anything. I just wanted to not be there."

"You had a great deal of the Gem's power inside you when Tommy saved you," said Billy. "It is highly probably that some traces of that power remains. I would not have predicted this ability, but it may be you still have a connection to the gem on a subconscious level and you used that to bring yourself to it."

"But... I... I've never been able to do anything like this before."

"You've never been about to be killed by soldiers of the enemy," said Billy.

"We should have killed him when we had the chance," muttered Trul.

"No one is killing anyone," Tommy said firmly. He didn't really have many other options at the moment, but he was thinking fast. There had to be a way to get out of this with what remained of his family still intact. He still had to think hard about what Jason had told him. He wasn't going to say any of that out loud though, since he knew what Trul's reaction would be to learning of the connection between Trina and someone now under the power of the enemy.

"Kat," Tommy said, turning to her, "one of the most important laws of the Order is that no one can know about this temple without being part of the Order. You have to join or you have to be made to forget everything." He wasn't even sure that would be enough. The enemy was attacking his family in ways he never thought possible. He didn't really believe that Kat could be saved just by forgetting.

"That drug's been used more times since you became Bearer," said Trul, "than it's been used in the previous five centuries."

"I thought you wanted to keep me out of this?" Kat asked. "I thought you wanted to keep it a secret?" Her voice shook with some emotion. Tommy wasn't certain if it was grief, or fear, or anger, or some mixture of them all, tumbled in with so many feelings that even Kat didn't know exactly how she felt.

"I didn't want this for you or the twins or anyone," Tommy said. "But it seems that I don't have any say in the matter."

"He means it," Trina said. Tommy wondered if it was the sword offering her insights into his mind.

Tommy stared at Kat, once again wishing for visibility. He wished she could see into his eyes and see how much this hurt him, but how important it nonetheless was.

"You have to join the Order, Kat," Tommy said.

"It's the only way you'll get out of this alive," said Jason.

"Becoming a part of this organisation is not as adverse an experience as Tommy might have led you to anticipate," said Billy.

"I guess I have no choice," said Kat.

"Trina," Tommy went on, crouching in front of the girl. "You're a part of it too now. The sword has given you powers. You won't have to use them for a long, long time, but you'll have to stay here. You can't leave the temple."

"I understand," said Trina. She was managing to look at where Tommy's face was. She was pale and frightened, but Tommy saw something else in her expression. The sword allowed its Bearer to read people's intentions. She understood that Tommy wanted her safe, but maybe she understood more than that.

Did she know about the connection to Will?

Did she know what might happen if he held the sword? 


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

Kat had listened with a growing sense of horror as Tommy told her about the enemy of the Order. Helped out by Jason and Billy, Tommy explained about an evil that it was impossible to destroy, a being who could reach out and turn people to her service from the inside. Kat sat in silence as Tommy told her about how they were afraid of anyone hearing their enemy's name. She could hear that name being thought and follow the thought inside people's minds, no matter how far away they were.

Jason told about how he'd refused to let Tommy keep his secret. He told of how the soldiers of the enemy had come after him and whispered the name in his ear. Kat sat in the small room in the temple and cried silent tears as she learned the true reason Rocky had died. The tears flowed fast as she realised just how important this secret was and how hard it must have been for these three to hide it.

No wonder Billy had left. Kat wondered how Tommy and Jason had managed to stay, knowing the truth of what had happened.

As she sat and listened, Kat wondered if maybe there were more to those final arguments between Adam and Tommy than just someone lashing out after the loss of a friend. Had Adam suspected something? Was that how he too had fallen to this enemy?

Kat heard the details but she still didn't feel they'd really sunk in. It was hard to accept an enemy so terrible that open warfare would almost certainly end in defeat. The Order destroyed her forces when they could, making sure her army never grew large enough for her to think about challenging them openly. While the battle went on in a secret stalemate, the rest of the universe was safe.

She understood why Tommy had kept her in ignorance. The truth brought with it a despair that threatened to settle over her very being.

The explanations had finished now and Kat new what she had to do. She wished she could just accept the option to forget, but that wasn't who she was. She'd never run from a fight in her life and she wasn't about to start now. Besides, she doubted that it would keep her safe. The enemy's soldiers were as likely to come after her without her memories and she'd rather know why she had to fight them. Even Adam.

There would be a ritual, she'd been told. She would fight one of the Order and then would be tested by the Gem. If she failed the test, she would die.

Tommy had patted her arm, saying that she'd be safe. She would pass. Kat wished so much she could see his face so that she could know if he meant it. Jason hugged her and then said he had to leave. There were plenty here who didn't trust him and who weren't happy that he'd managed to find a way into the temple. Billy had given her a comforting smile, saying that he'd found the test a lot easier than he'd expected. Of course, he used a lot more syllables than that.

Then Kat was left alone.

She dressed in the clothes they'd given her, putting on the black of the Order's uniform. Not a trace of pink on her now. As she folded the clothes she had been wearing, she had a strange sense that she was putting away a portion of her life forever. Whatever she would become, she wouldn't be the same person who had been a Ranger all those years ago.

"It's time," said one of the Order, come to take her to her destiny. Kat followed him to the great hall where she'd first arrived. The tiered seats were filled with watchers, all in the Order's uniform, all masked. Kat wondered if Tommy was here somewhere, watching her.

Stepping into the centre of the room to stand in front of Kat was a man in the same uniform. Kat took a nervous breath at the sight of his size and the obvious muscles beneath his shirt.

"Katherine," came Tommy's voice, formally, "you have asked to join the Order of Orasella. Before we can welcome you into our midst, you must face the challenge of combat. You see your opponent. Do you accept?"

Kat repeated over and over that she had to trust Tommy. He believed she could win. She wasn't going to let him down. He'd lost too much already.

"I accept," Kat said.

"Then begin."

The man bowed and Kat did the same. Then they started fighting. Kat drew on everything she knew, every skilled she'd learned during her time as a Ranger. She relied on her speed and agility against the man's strength, but he was an amazingly powerful fighter. It seemed mere moments before he had Kat pinned on the floor.

It was over. So much for the confidence Tommy and Billy had shown in her.

"Enough. The fight is won," came Tommy's voice. The man stood, helping Kat to her feet. She stood there, somewhat confused, surrounding by so many masked faces.

"You fought with honour and courage," stated Tommy. "All that remains is to see if the Gem of Orasella will accept you under its protection."

A gong rang and, through one of the doors, came four kids. Between them, they held an ornate tray on which sat a large, golden crystal. The kids, dressed in black and gold, looked happy enough. There was another, a girl carrying a golden sceptre and grinning with pride. Kat couldn't help thinking about Trina, wondering if she could accept this place as a home. These children clearly didn't mind this life.

"Place your right hand on the Gem," said Tommy. Kat did as she was instructed and felt a warmth flowing up her arm from the smooth surface of the Gem.

"I accept this one as a child of my own, to protect and guard from the evil that would claim her. Should she come for her, I will stand between them. She shall not have her." It took Kat a moment to realise that she was speaking. The words came from her mouth without her even thinking them.

The girl with the sceptre walked up to Kat and held it out so that the tip touched Kat just above the heart.

"As Children of Orasella, we welcome you," said the girl. "You are a part of our family, from now until the day of your death. You are one of us. Protected by Orasella and by ourselves. From this moment on, you are of the Order of Orasella, bound by our laws, defended by our power and an integral part of our strength."

Then the children spoke together, one a little behind the others, as though struggling to remember his lines. "We stand between the innocent and their greatest enemy. We welcome you to our battle."

There was a cheer from the audience and then Kat heard Tommy's voice muttering in her ear that it was done. 


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

Kat was learning about the Order. She wasn't completely sure why Tommy had been so determined to keep her in the dark about this. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't as terrifying as she'd imagined. A war against a great evil was something she would want to help with, and Tommy had to have known that. The methods of the Order were somewhat different from those of the Rangers; they aimed more for the good of the many, rather than caring about saving every individual. But Kat could understand the reasons behind those ideas. From what both Tommy and Billy had said, this enemy was worse than anything she'd known.

Kat was currently peering through the door of a classroom. A teacher was going through lessons with a roomful of kids. The children were of different ages, ranging between about eight and twelve. Kat knew that there were other rooms for those younger and older. Orphaned children, rescued and raised by the Order because they had no home left.

Now Trina would be a part of this.

Tommy had explained to Kat everything that Jason had discovered. Kat tried not to let it make a difference. Trina was Tommy's daughter and she was hers. Nothing else mattered, especially not some soulless soldier who had done this to her friend. Wherever Trina had come from, she was an innocent in all this.

Could she be happy here? Kat hoped so, because there was no other choice. Trina couldn't leave here. Tommy was adamant about that.

There came the sound of feet running up to her. Kat closed the classroom door and looked round to find Billy running up to her, looking frantic.

"What is it?" Kat asked.

"It's Tommy."

"Is he OK?" With all she'd learned, the terror was almost unbearable. So much could have happened; so many threats were aimed at him.

"He was trying something to make him visible again," Billy said. "You'd better come."

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"Where's Kat?" Trina demanded, arms crossed, looking as stern as she could manage. Hunter didn't look her in the eye.

"She went to talk to your friend, Hayley, about something," Hunter answered.

Trina had been put into the care of a somewhat nervous Hunter. She didn't know what was going on, but she was certain something was. People were looking worried. She hadn't seen either of her parents in ages. Well, it would be hard to see Dad anyway, but he certainly wasn't around. Everyone was treating her like she was a fragile baby who couldn't understand anything. Even Dad would only tell her that there was danger and that she had to stay here. But Trina knew there was more than that.

She didn't need a magic sword to know that people were keeping secrets.

"Where's Dad?"

"He's doing something that might make his visible," Hunter said, still not looking at Trina.

"Tell me the truth!" she yelled. She was sick of the deception. Her Dad had been hiding things from her for years. It seemed every secret she uncovered revealed a dozen more. And now her brother was gone and no one was telling her all they knew about that either. Trina just wanted answers. She deserved answers.

"Kat will be back soon," Hunter promised. He did manage to meet her eyes that time.

"What about Dad?"

Hunter looked away again. "Um... I'm sure he's just busy."

"Stop lying!" Tears were flowing down Trina's face. She was losing everyone. Will was lost to some evil enemy. Her dad had been frozen or Rangerfied or invisible for weeks. And now Kat had vanished too. Even Uncle Jase was gone. Apparently, he wasn't allowed to stay in the temple.

Trina had never felt so alone. It was as though some higher power was determined to steal from her everyone she cared about.

She wanted Dad.

She wasn't aware of trying, but she must have somehow tapped into the transmat ability Dad had warned her about. He'd told her not to use it, but here instinctive need for family and protection must have activated the gift. The temple's white décor vanished and she was left standing in a stark hospital room.

Trina saw Kat and Hayley, the latter of which looked completely shocked by Trina's appearance, but her gaze fell on the bed and remained fixed there. Dad! He lay, completely motionless, eyes closed.

"No," Trina breathed.

"Trina, go back," Kat said.

Hunter was already arriving, following Trina here.

"Come on, we've got to leave," he said, taking Trina's hand. She pulled from his grasp, not wanting to be taken back. She took a step towards the bed, staring at her Dad's expressionless face.

They didn't tell her. Dad was hurt, and they hadn't told her.

The tears were flowing unstoppably. Could she even trust Kat? Kat had lied as much as anyone else. Dad had lied. Jason had lied. It seemed everyone she knew and trusted hid things from her that she deserved to know. They all manipulated her, lying and deceiving, forcing her choices. Did they even love her, or was she just a tool for them in this war with the Order and their enemy.

"Come on," Kat said, taking Trina firmly by the arm.

"It's too late."

Trina looked round at that familiar voice, seeing Will standing at the end of the bed, staring at Trina with silver eyes. He held out a hand towards her.

"Come with me," he said. Her brother's voice. Her brother's hand.

Everyone had lied to her about everything. Every word they'd said had been a half-truth or a deception. If nothing they'd ever said had been real, how could she even know that they'd been telling the truth about Will being evil now?

Trina reached out to take Will's hand. 


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty Six**

Trina was surrounded by a silver light and a feeling of absolute evil. Lost and alone, she spun round, trying to see through the blinding light. But there was just her, and the light, and the voice.

It was one voice whispering that Trina should just give in. No one could help her now. Her friends and family were a long way away. The woman's voice whispered right inside her mind, drawing on her fears, speaking straight to Trina's soul. She was drowning in the sensation of helplessness. Scared beyond anything she'd ever felt, trapped somewhere far from her parents or Uncle Jase or anyone who might rescue her, Trina called on the only power available to her.

A small knife appeared in her hand. The sword in its disguised form.

She could almost feel the pleasure in the evil around her, but the light also grew slightly dimmer, the silver retreating from the sword. So she held tightly to the hilt and moved through this strange place. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. Perhaps a way out? Perhaps something else entirely.

She saw a shadow, just a dim form surrounded by the brilliant silver.

"Will!" she yelled, not sure how she recognised him.

Jason had said he was still alive. He'd said Will was still there, trapped inside his own mind.

Trina ran towards the shadow but even when she got close, there was something unreal about him. It was Will, she was certain now, but he huddled in on himself, his hands pressed over his ears to shut out the woman's voice. His eyes were squeezed shut against the light. He looked so scared.

Trina reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, to comfort him, to let him know he wasn't alone any more.

Her hand passed right through.

He must have felt something because he looked up and met her gaze with eyes that were full of tears. Trina tried to touch him again and this time her hand rested against the faint resistance provided by his shoulder. She could her fingers through him.

"Will?" she asked, her voice shaking with fear.

"I couldn't get out. I couldn't stop her." As though cued by his admission of failure, his form grew fainter. Trina couldn't feel his arm anymore.

"It's not your fault, Will," Trina said. "I'm here now. You're not alone any more."

"She won't be quiet. She just keeps whispering. She's in my thoughts."

Trina had to help him. Somehow. He was her brother. Desperate and more afraid than she'd thought it possible to be, some instinct drew more on the power of the sword. It took on its true form becoming a weapon of such might that it was nearly too heavy for Trina to hold. But the strength came with it, flowing into her, giving her courage.

Could it help Will?

She offered the hilt to her brother. His fingers passed through it the first time, but then he held it, his hand appearing more solid as he did so.

Trina didn't know what would happen. She didn't know if this could save him. She didn't know if anything could. She just knew that she had to try.

She wrapped her own hands around the hilt too, cover Will's. She reached inside herself to call on the power of the sword. She felt it flowing through her and she felt it flowing into Will. A golden light formed on the blade, dancing along the metal and floating around both children.

Will looked up at Trina, becoming more solid with every instant, and he smiled at her.

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A pair of feet raced down the corridors of the temple. The owner of the feet had sensed that something was wrong but wasn't certain what. So the figure ran, ending up in the room that housed the Gem of Orasella.

A pair of frantic eyes watched as the Gem began to glow. The expression grew more frightened as the golden light grew dimmer and, for a brief moment, the Gem went dead.

Then all worry vanished from the figure's features and the eyes shone momentarily silver. 


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

"You know better than anyone how powerful I am," said the Green Ranger, "why don't you just give up the fight?"

"That's the one thing I'd never do," Tommy responded. He backed off as well as he was able, but his leg had been hurt by that last fall and Green Ranger was looming over him. Tommy ended up with his back up against something.

"Then I guess this is over." Green Ranger moved into a fighting stance, the dragon dagger ready.

This wasn't how Tommy had ever imagined dying. With all the dangers he faced in his normal life, he hadn't thought he'd be killed by ghosts of his former powers. He probably should have considered the possibility, since the Green Ranger had been resurrected before and tried to kill him. Strange though his end might be, he would face it. He'd been through too much to end cringing or begging.

"You passed the test." Green Ranger stepped forward, but instead of striking with the dagger, he offered Tommy his hand. He accepted it, deciding that this was definitely a better offer than certain death, however confusing it might be. He allowed himself to be helped to his feet.

"Test? What test?"

"You haven't been fighting us. You've been fighting for your life."

"And you've proven that your will to live is stronger than any Ranger power."

The Red and White Rangers appeared from out of the ruins, walking to stand on either side of Green Ranger. Tommy was still too shocked to think of a reasonable response to their arrival or their announcement.

"I don't understand," Tommy said.

"We are all still inside you," said Green Ranger.

"Our power is never completely gone," added White Ranger in the same voice, Tommy's voice.

"The Power resides inside every Ranger, no matter how long ago they surrendered their abilities," said Red Ranger.

"Call on us when you need us," Green Ranger said.

"We will answer," spoke all three. They held out their hands towards Tommy, each holding a piece of the missing Dino Gem.

"This is yours, Black Ranger."

Still incredibly confused, Tommy reached out to take the pieces, feeling the power tingle in the palm of his hand as the pieces fused together.

"Once a Ranger," the three said.

"Always a Ranger," Tommy finished in a mutter, opening his eyes.

For a moment, he lay staring at the ceiling, not quite sure what had just happened. Then someone landed on his legs and he paid attention to his surroundings. He supposed having Kat land on top of him wasn't the worst way to wake up, but it was made significantly less pleasant by the silver-eyed man she was fighting.

Kat stood and dealt a firm kick to the man's stomach. He stumbled back a step, then a sweeping stroke of a sword severed his neck and his body toppled, revealing Hunter.

Across the other side of the room, Tommy could see the twins. They stood motionless, right hands clasped, a golden light glowing around them. Beside them, Hayley was struggling with another silver-eyed soldier of the enemy. Kat rushed across and punched the guy. This, combined with Hayley's struggles, caused him to fall.

Tommy was hurrying out of the hospital bed to go and help, but it seemed there was no need. The golden light vanished and a short knife appeared in Will's hand. He moved quickly, the knife momentarily lengthening to a sword as it cut through the man's flesh and cut off his head.

Tommy stood, feeling lost and confused and somehow terrified of his own hope. He looked at the boy, a mere child holding a knife that was dripping with blood. The knife was an exact copy of the form the sword took for Trina.

"Will?" Tommy asked, not daring to believe.

The boy turned and looked at Tommy. His eyes gleamed still, but only with an ocean's worth of tears. There was no trace of silver there.

Tommy rushed across the room and flung his arms around Will. Then he grabbed Trina and pulled her into the crushing embrace as well. Both children hugged him back, shaking and sobbing.

Tommy didn't care about the how or the why. All he knew was that his children were here and healthy and with their souls intact. At that moment, he didn't care about anything else. When Kat joined them in the hug, the world was perfect. 


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

"If anyone makes another suggestion of killing Will," Tommy snarled across the pentagonal table, "it won't be his neck that gets severed." He was glaring particularly at Trul, who had repeatedly argued that Will was obviously still a soldier of the enemy, despite the fact that anyone looking at the boy could see that was a lie.

"I've done every test we can on him," Billy said. "He's back to normal. He's now a sword Bearer and has all the protection of the Gem."

"How?" asked Carlia.

"The twins are connected," Tommy said. He didn't explain how that came to be or how he knew, though he guessed that Billy suspected. "The power of the sword worked through that connection and Trina was able to reach the part of Will that was left."

"How had he survived that long?" demanded Trul. "No one has ever gone that long before being completely destroyed by the enemy's power. The boy is probably part of some greater scheme. We can't keep him here."

Clearly Trul had some sense of self-preservation. This time he didn't say outright that they should cut off Will's head, just to be certain. But, though he hated to admit it even to himself, Tommy though Trul had a point. The enemy was incredibly careful in her scheming. Her plots were subtle and frequently so complex that people didn't understand them until after everything had unravelled. It didn't seem possible they could have won.

From what Tommy had seen and what Jason had told him, the enemy's plan had been for her to get one of the twins, which she'd done. Then she'd wanted one of the twins to get hold of the sword, which had happened. Then she'd wanted the twins to meet and for their connection to pass the power of the sword between them, which had also happened.

Yet now the twins were safe and alive and their souls very definitely intact. They were at home with Kat, protected in a way that the enemy couldn't undo. They were a family again and they could defend themselves against the enemy's soldiers. He had everything he'd hoped for and he refused to believe that it was over.

Tommy couldn't help feeling it was all too good to be true.

He wondered what he'd missed. There had to be something and it had to be something big. Tommy was trying to be happy and failing because he was expecting everything to hit the fan at any moment.

"However it happened," Billy said, "Will is one of us now."

"I still think he'd be safer in the temple," said Carlia.

"No," said Tommy in a tone that not even Trul was going to argue with.

He waited a moment for any more comments. There'd been so much to discuss. So much had happened over the past weeks, more than had happened in the years preceding it. Tommy just hoped for such a reprieve before the next portion of the enemy's plan came into fruition. She was immortal and infinitely patient. Maybe Tommy and his family would be long gone before anyone saw the events of this latest scheme.

"Are we done here?" Tommy asked. The answer came in the form of nods from around the table. Tommy stood and transmatted back to the family he'd though he'd lost. He might hope for years, but he was going to cherish every moment he was given with them because he knew just how quickly they could be snatched away.

In the council room, the rest of the sashed figures prepared to leave. In the sudden movement, no one noticed when one pair of eyes, just for an instant, flickered silver.

**To be continued in Children of the Fall**


	39. Announcement

A new science fiction thriller is coming out this month.

Child of the Hive


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